BELL MAN PLEADS GUILTY TO MAKING NUMEROUS THREATS TO KILL NEWSPAPER REPORTER, MUSLIMS, AND POLITICIANS

GAINESVILLE, FLORIDA – Peter Daniel Ring, 31, of Bell, Florida, pleaded guilty in federal court to sending multiple threatening interstate communications to kill or cause physical injuries.  The plea was announced by John P. Heekin, United States Attorney for the Northern District of Florida.

U.S. Attorney Heekin said: “My office takes seriously any threat of violence, and we have zero-tolerance for criminal threats directed toward others because of their religious or political affiliation.”

Court documents reveal that in June 2025 the Federal Bureau of Investigations (FBI) received a complaint from the Washington Post newspaper that it had received a threat to kill one of its reporters. The defendant was identified as the source of the threat, and when contacted by the FBI he said he would not make any more threats.  However, two months later, the FBI received a tip that the defendant was posting religiously and politically motivated threats of violence against Muslim people, members of the media, and prominent politicians. Between May and September 2025, the defendant made threats to kill or cause physical injury to at least fourteen victims.       

Ring faces up to 10 years’ imprisonment upon sentencing, which is scheduled for April 28, 2026, at 4:00 pm, at the United States Courthouse in Gainesville before Chief United States District Judge Allen C. Winsor.

The case involved an investigation by the Federal Bureau of Investigations and is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Christie S. Utt.

This case is part of Operation Take Back America a nationwide initiative that marshals the full resources of the Department of Justice to repel the invasion of illegal immigration, achieve the total elimination of cartels and transnational criminal organizations (TCOs), and protect our communities from the perpetrators of violent crime, human and drug trafficking.

The United States Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of Florida is one of 94 offices that serve as the nation’s principal litigators under the direction of the Attorney General.  To access public court documents online, please visit the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Florida website. For more information about the United States Attorney’s Office, Northern District of Florida, visit https://www.justice.gov/usao-ndfl.