A New York man who harassed the US Congress was sentenced to 13 months in prison

On September 3 local time, the website of the US Department of Justice released news that a 35-year-old New York man named Ed was sentenced to 13 months in prison for intimidating members of the US Congress. After being released from prison, he will also need to be subject to up to three years of "post-prison supervision."

It is reported that from February 2022 to his arrest in November 2023, in less than two years, Ed made about 12,000 harassing phone calls, involving the offices of 54 members of Congress, and most of the calls were made to the Capitol. He once called a certain congressman 500 times in just two days. Most of the people who answered these harassing calls were congressional staff, legislative assistants, and interns. During the calls, Ed had improper behaviors such as abusing, intimidating, and threatening. He even threatened, "I will kill you, run you over with a car, and blow you up with a bomb." He also mentioned implementing "kidnapping."

On November 14, 2023, the US Capitol Police arrested this "phone maniac" in Puerto Rico. During the investigation, the prosecution found that Ed had been arrested many times by local law enforcement departments in Prince George's County and Howard County, Maryland before due to abusing telephone communications and making threats and intimidation. In May this year, Ed pleaded guilty in court, admitting to criminal acts such as "cross-state threat of kidnapping and harm" and "making repeated harassing phone calls," and repented in court, but still said that his actions were for "a better future for the United States" and "the next generation of the motherland."

Initially, the prosecution recommended that the court impose a severe and heavy punishment and proposed an 18-month prison term. After negotiation, it was set at 13 months. After this incident was announced, Ed's 13-month prison sentence sparked heated discussions on American social media platforms. Many netizens think that "the sentence is too light." It is understood that the chief of the Capitol Police has said that threats against members of Congress have increased by about 400% in the past six years. This year is an election year. The government and some people are worried that excessive criticism of the political world like this will turn into real violent threats. Although this case did not cause serious consequences, it has been regarded as a "negative example" by the US judicial department.