FL Man Threatened To Decapitate Congresswomen: DOJ

A Palm Beach Gardens man was arraigned in federal court in West Palm Beach on charges that he called and threatened to injure two Congresswomen and a district attorney.

Paul Vernon Hoeffer, 60, was charged with three counts of interstate transmission of threats to injure, according to a Department of Justice news release.

The Hill reported that the two Congresswomen threatened were Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.) and House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.)

According to allegations made by prosecutors during a court hearing, in March 2019, Hoeffer called a congresswoman in Washington, D.C., and threatened to come a "long, long, way" to rattle her head with bullets and cut her head off.

On the same day, Hoeffer called a district attorney in the State of Illinois, telling her bullets were going to "rattle her brain," the DOJ said.

In November 2020, Hoeffer called another congresswoman in New York and told her that he would "rip her head off" and cautioned her to sleep with one eye open, according to allegations made by prosecutors.

If convicted, Hoeffer faces a total of up to 15 years in prison. He pled not guilty during the arraignment and his trial begins Jan. 18.