Tampa Man Sentenced to Prison Over Bomb Threat to US House Member's District Office
A man from Tampa, Florida, was sentenced on Thursday to one year in prison for threatening to plant a bomb in the district office of a member of the House of Representatives, the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Middle District of Florida
District Judge Mary S. Scriven said Rigoberto Albizar Martinez, 57, must also remain under home confinement for one year following his release from prison.
In December, a federal jury found Martinez
According to a complaint filed with the U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Florida, Martinez called the Tampa district office of a member of the House of Representatives on May 1, 2024, and 'left a vulgar, racist, obscenity-laden voicemail,' in which he threatened to plant a bomb in their office.
The complaint does not state who Martinez called, but Democratic Rep. Kathy Castor represents Florida's 14th congressional district, which includes Tampa and parts of Hillsborough County.
She has held the position since 2015.
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During the call, Martinez identified himself and provided his phone number, according to the complaint.
'Make sure that nothing happens to me because I'm going to plant a bomb in your office,' Martinez said, according to a transcription of the voicemail, which was translated from Spanish.
'It's a threat, it's a threat, and take it however you want.'
Martinez also criticized Democrats, whom he said were to blame for him being 'on the street.'
He also took aim at 'pro-Palestinians,' telling the lawmaker to 'make sure a pro-Palestinian doesn't touch me on the street like this' or 'all those Black Lives Matter, all those black people.'
According to the complaint, the representative and their staff feared they were at risk of harm due to Martinez's phone call. Capitol Police subsequently requested a 24-hour marked unit to sit outside the lawmaker's residence and directed patrols around their District Office.
Law enforcement conducted an investigation into the phone call and discovered that the same phone number that Martinez had used to call the office had been involved in a 'previous concerning communication investigation' in which a voicemail was left for another congressional lawmaker on Aug. 9, 2021.
The court document does not identify which lawmaker was targeted during that incident. However, it states that Martinez told the representative during the call to 'be careful with the package that you will receive in your mailbox.'
Martinez was subsequently interviewed by police and admitted to making the phone call to the Tampa lawmaker's office in 2024, according to the complaint.
He 'did not express any remorse for leaving the threatening voicemail and indicated that he would like to go to court with the victim,' when questioned by law enforcement officials, the complaint states.
Martinez faces a maximum penalty of 10 years in federal prison if found guilty.
A sentencing date has not yet been set.
The Epoch Times has contacted an attorney for Martinez and a spokesperson for Castor's office for comment.
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