The Justice Department has charged William Robert Braddock III, the former primary opponent of Rep. Anna Paulina Luna, R-Fla., with threatening to send a “Russian-Ukrainian hit squad” to kill Luna and another individual. Braddock allegedly made threats during a phone call with the second victim, stating he would call up the hit squad to make Luna disappear. After making these threats, Braddock left the United States and was later found to be residing in the Philippines. He has since been deported back to the United States and appeared in court in Los Angeles.
While Luna was not named in the indictment, she had previously contended in civil court documents that Braddock had been stalking her and had wanted her dead while she was running for Congress. Luna and a conservative activist, Erin Olszewski, obtained a temporary restraining order against Braddock, who later dropped out of the race denying the allegations. Politico reported that Olszewski had secretly recorded a phone call with Braddock in which he mentioned the alleged hit squad, suggesting Luna could be killed within 24 hours. Braddock had previously dismissed the recording as possibly altered and had threatened legal action against those in possession of it.
In court proceedings, Luna testified about the fear she felt towards Braddock, describing him as an evil person who had emotionally terrorized her. Olszewski also testified about the recorded phone call in which Braddock made veiled threats against her children if she repeated what he had said. The new indictment against Braddock charges him with one count of interstate transmission of a true threat to injure another person, with a maximum penalty of five years in prison if convicted. The case is part of the Justice Department’s Election Threats Task Force, which was established to address violent threats against election workers.
Luna’s office did not immediately provide a comment regarding the indictment, but a spokesperson for the congresswoman acknowledged Luna has faced an increasing number of death threats in recent months, reflecting a broader issue of violence in the political arena. The case against Braddock highlights the seriousness of threats and violent behavior in political campaigns, and the need for legal action to address such behavior. Luna’s experience with Braddock serves as a reminder of the potential risks and dangers that political candidates may face while running for office, and the importance of taking threats seriously and pursuing legal action when necessary.
