Press Release
DEFENDANT PLEADS GUILTY TO MAKING A THREAT AGAINST THE LIFE OF THE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES
July 31, 2007
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
R. Alexander Acosta, United States Attorney for the Southern District of Florida, William T. Sims, Special Agent in Charge, United States Secret Service, Jonathan I. Solomon, Special Agent in Charge, Federal Bureau of Investigation, Henry Gutierrez, Inspector in Charge, United States Postal Inspection Service, and the members of the Joint Terrorism Task Force announced That defendant Nathan Danforth pled guilty today before United States District Court Judge Daniel T.K. Hurley to making a threat against the life of the President of the United States, in violation of Title 18, United States Code, Section 871(a). Danforth entered a plea of guilty to the first count of a three-count indictment.
Sentencing in the matter will take place before Judge Hurley in West Palm Beach. A date for sentencing has not been set.
The charges against Danforth arise from three separate letters that he sent to the Clerk of Court for Charlotte County, the Secret Service Office in Fort Myers, and the Palm Beach County Courthouse. In each letter, Danforth threatened the assassination of the President and the placement of bombs at the federal courthouse in Fort Myers. The letter sent to the Palm Beach County Courthouse contained a powdery substance and threatened an anthrax attack upon the courthouse. Danforth signed each letter "Praise Allah Jihad!" Danforth sent these letters while serving a term of imprisonment for making a bomb threat against the Palm Beach County Courthouse in 2004. Danforth also has been convicted by the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Middle District of Florida for making threats against the President and has been sentenced to three years' confinement in a federal prison which will begin after Danforth completes his state sentence.
Pursuant to the terms of the plea agreement, Danforth faces a maximum of five years in federal prison, to be served after the completion of the pending state and federal prison terms. Following that term of imprisonment, Danforth faces a maximum of three years' supervised release, and he faces a fine of up to $250,000.
Mr. Acosta commended the investigative efforts of the United States Secret Service, the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the United States Postal Inspection Service, and the Joint Terrorism Task Fork. The case was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Ann Marie C. Villafana.
A copy of this press release may be found on the website of the United States Attorney's Office for the Southern District of Florida at http://www.usdoj.gov/usao/fls. Related court documents and information may be found on the website of the District Court for the Southern District of Florida at http://www.flsd.uscourts.gov or on http://pacer.flsd.uscourts.gov.
Technical comments about this website can be e-mailed to the Webmaster. PLEASE NOTE: The United States Attorney's Office does not respond to non-technical inquiries made to this website. If you wish to make a request for information, you may contact our office at 305-961-9001, or you may send a written inquiry to the United States Attorney's Office, Southern District of Florida, 99 NE 4th Street, Miami, Fl. 33132.