A Marine Park man faces 10 years in federal prison after pleading guilty to threatening the life of a United States Senator.
According to prosecutors, 51-year-old Michael Brogan left the threatening voicemail for the federal legislator because of the senator’s public criticism of President Donald Trump, and their stance on women’s reproductive rights.
Authorities declined to release information about which senator received the menacing voice message, in an effort to protect their safety.
Brogan entered his guilty plea in front of Magistrate Judge Robert M. Levy in the Brooklyn Federal Court building on May 24.
According to the investigation, Brogan made the call to the legislator’s Washington, D.C., office on Dec. 4, 2018. During the message, Brogan launched a profanity laced tirade, in which he warned the lawmaker that he would travel to the nation’s capital to assault and murder them, prosecutors said
“I got your [expletive] mark you stupid [expletive]. You and your constant lambasting of President Trump. Oh, reproductive rights, reproductive rights,” Brogan said. “You watch your [expletive]. If I see you on the streets, I’m gonna [expletive] light you up with [expletive] bullets.”
Brogan was arrested at his home in Brooklyn on Dec. 12, according to prosecutors.
The United States Attorney overseeing the case called Brogan’s actions a subversion of the nation’s fundamental legal system.
“Brogan threatened to assault and murder a sitting United States Senator to silence the senator and interfere with the performance of the senator’s official duties,” said U.S. Attorney Richard Donoghue of the Eastern District of New York. “The Department of Justice stands ready to vigorously prosecute those who seek to subvert our constitutional system and intimidate elected officials through threats of violence.”
Brogan faces up to a decade in prison when he is officially sentenced on Sept. 10.