A Florida man was sentenced to two years in prison on Wednesday for leaving voicemails threatening to kill a member of Congress and their children, the U.S. Department of Justice announced.
Michael Shapiro, 73, was sentenced in a Fort Lauderdale courtroom for leaving threatening messages to an unidentified Congressperson in December of 2023.
Court records state that Shapiro called a U.S. Congressional Office in Washington, D.C., from his home in Greenacres, Florida, a city about 10 miles southwest of West Palm Beach, and left five voicemails.
“In three of the messages, Shapiro threatened to kill the Congressperson and the Congressperson’s children,” the Justice Department said in a news release. “Specifically, Shapiro stated, ‘I'm gonna come after you and kill you [expletive].’ In another call, Shapiro stated, ‘I'm gonna come and kill your children you mother-[expletive]. I'm gonna kill your children.’”
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He was arrested the next month and pleaded guilty to transmitting threatening communications in May.
Authorities did not say why Shapiro left the voicemails.
