2 AUGUST 19, 2021 RIDGEWOOD TIMES WWW.QNS.COM
Middle Village man pleads guilty to posting
online threats to kill members of Congress
BY BILL PARRY
BPARRY@SCHNEPSMEDIA.COM
@QNS
A Middle Village man who was arrested just days
aft er insurrectionists stormed the U.S. Capitol
on Jan. 6, admitted Monday, Aug. 16, to posting
threats to kill members of Congress and illegally possessing
a huge cache of ammunition.
Proud Boys supporter Eduard Florea, 41, pleaded
guilty in Brooklyn federal court before U.S. Chief
Magistrate Judge Cheryl L. Pollack to one count of
transmitting threats to injure and one count of possessing
ammunition aft er having been convicted of
a felony.
Florea, a soft ware engineer and father of two, was
taken into custody on the night of Jan. 12 aft er the FBINYPD
Joint Terrorism Task Force raided his home of
76th Street off Eliot Avenue.
According to court fi lings, Florea posted threatening
statements online about killing offi cials, including
now-U.S. Senator Raphael Warnock and committing
other acts of violence in Washington, D.C., in connection
with the certifi cation of the results of the 2020
Presidential Election. On the morning of Jan. 5, Florea
posted, “We need to all come to an agreement…and
go armed…and really take back Washington.” A few
minutes laters, Florea posted, “Tomorrow may very
well be the day war kicks off …”
At 11:53 p.m. the same day, Florea posted, “Warnock
is going to have a hard time casting votes for
communist policies when he’s swinging with the
f***ing fi sh.” In the early morning hours of Jan. 6, Florea
referenced Senator Warnock and stated, “Dead
men can’t pass sh*t laws.”
Aft er the assault on Capitol Hill had begun, Florea
posted that he intended to travel to Washington, D.C.,
as part of a group armed with fi rearms ready to engage
in additional violence.
Between approximately 2 and 6 p.m. — while the
Capitol was under siege — Florea posted the following
messages, among others:
• “Mine are ready….I am ready…. we need to regroup
outside of DC and attack from all sides… talking to some
other guys….I will keep watching for the signal.”
• “I am awaiting my orders…armed and ready to
deploy….”
• “There 3 car full of armed patriots heading in from
NY….”
• “Me and some guys are gearing up to head in. . . .
where are you . . . 3 cars already are enroute . . . .all armed.”
• “It’s time to unleash some violence.”
“With today’s plea, Florea admits to threatening the
life of a successful candidate for the U.S. Senate and
to urging others to take up arm to unleash violence at
the Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021 to thwart the results of the
presidential election,” Acting U.S. Attorney Jacquelyn
M. Kasulis said.
When the FBI-NYPD Joint Terrorism Task Force
executed the search warrant at Florea’s Middle Village
home on Jan. 12, investigators found more than
1,000 rounds of rifl e ammunition, over 20 rounds of
shotgun ammunition, 72 military-style combat knives,
two swords and two hatchets in his possession, according
to federal prosecutors. Florea had been previously
convicted of a New York state fi rearms-related felony
aft er police found a stockpile of weapons at his Staten
Island home in 2014. He served a year in prison and
later moved to Middle Village.
The estimated sentencing guidelines are 15 to 21
months in prison and sentencing is scheduled for Nov.
29. Florea has been detained in a Brooklyn jail since
his arrest in January.
Middle Village resident Eduard Florea pleads
guilty in federal court.
Sketch by REUTERS/Jane Rosenberg
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