Eduard Florea, a wannabe member of the far right group the ‘Proud Boys’ was arrested on Tuesday after he threatened to kill US Senator-elect Rev. Raphael Warnock and was planning to take part in last Wednesday’s riots where he said he was going to “slice” a throat.
“FUCK RAPHAEL WARNOCK LOSER. Here in New York we are target rich …. dead men can’t pass shit laws …. I will fight so help me god,” Florea wrote on Parler under the user name “LoneWolfWar.”
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He also vowed to travel to Washington and slice “a throat” at the Jan. 6 riot by supporters of Donald Trump, according to NBC New York.
“The time for peace and civility is over,” Florea wrote according to a criminal complaint. “I will be reaching out to patriots in my area so we can come up with a game plan … Its time to unleash some violence.”
Officers raided his home on Tuesday night and found 1,000 rounds of ammunition and military-style combat knives. Florea who was convicted in 2013 for a firearms-related felony was not allowed to have any ammunition.
He was arrested on a weapons possession charge, and could face 10 years in jail if convicted.
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Florea applied to join the Proud Boys but was not yet a member since he did not attend the required number of meetings. He was with the group in December when they marched in D.C. and destroyed Black Lives Matter banners from two historic black churches, Assistant U.S. Attorney Francisco J. Navarro said. Law enforcement does not believe he was at the Capitol last week.
“For those of you out there with similar intentions, heed this warning — knock it off, or expect to see us at your door,” FBI Assistant Director-in-Charge William Sweeney said at a news conference.
Florea is currently being held without bail because U.S. Magistrate Judge Sanket Bulsara said the evidence suggested “a premediated plan to exact violence against people in New York and people in Washington.”
Since the January 6 attack, Amazon has removed Parler from its web hosting service. The right wing social media site was also removed from Google Play and the Apple App Store after allegations that the platform was used by the rioters to communicate and plan their attack.
