Proud Boys Fanatic Nabbed In Possession Of Ammunition After Sending Death Threats To Black Congressman, Capitol

A New York City Proud Boy wannabe faces up to 15 years in prison after he pleaded guilty on Monday to charges of transmitting violent threats and illegally possessing ammunition concerning the harassment he posted online just a day before the Jan. 6 insurrection in the U.S. Capitol.

Eduard Florea, 41, of Middle Village, Queens, has pleaded guilty via video link from federal jail in Brooklyn for expressing his desires online to thwart the results of the U.S. Presidential election, slice “a throat” in the U.S. Capitol, and ultimately kill newly elected Democrat senator Raphael Warnock.

While Florea was unable to join the insurrection in person, he incited rioters’ rhetoric from home by posting menacing messages in January to the far-right social media app Parler.

Court documents revealed that on Jan. 5, 2021, at approximately 8:40 p.m, Florea posted on Parler as "LoneWolfWar" to say, “We need to all come to an agreement and go armed and take back Washington.”

A few minutes later, he would add, “Tomorrow may very [well] be the day war kicks off.” Then 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 fish.”

On the day of the Capitol siege, Florea posted about Warnock on approximately 12:42 a.m., saying “Dead men can’t pass s--t laws,” noting he was “armed and ready to deploy,” to the nation’s Capitol.

Warnock was on his way to winning the Georgia special election at the time, becoming the first Black senator in the state's history, the Associated Press reported.

Federal agents executed a search warrant to Florea’s home on Jan. 12 and confiscated a stash of more than 1,000 rounds of rifle ammunition along with military-style combat knives, leading to his subsequent arrest.

According to prosecutors, Florea was in the process of becoming a Proud Boys member when he was apprehended as he was yet to attend the requisite number of meetings. They noted that the man had traveled to Washington in December with the group to deface a church.

Florea’s wife, Joni, said that her husband “was convinced he was going to have to go out and fight a civil war.”

Her interview with the media would then uncover the man's alleged abusive behavior, tagged by his own wife as a “horrible monster,” who assaulted her and their family dog, threatening them with guns and knives, the New York Daily News noted.

Sentencing is slated for Nov. 29, with Florea facing up to 15 years in prison. Under federal sentencing guidelines, the man may likely be sentenced to about 15 to 21 months jail term.