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Press Release
A Fort Pierce resident was sentenced to prison yesterday for making ISIS related threats.
Ariana Fajardo Orshan, U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of Florida and George L. Piro, Special Agent in Charge, Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), Miami Field Office made the announcement.
Charlton Edward LaChase, 28, of Fort Pierce, Florida, was sentenced yesterday to 18 months in prison, to be followed by three years of supervised release, by U.S. District Judge Robin Rosenberg, after previously pleading guilty to two counts of transmitting threats through interstate or foreign commerce (Case No. 18-24011-CR).
According to the court record, LaChase sent text messages professing his support for ISIS and threatening to kill several people while committing acts of terrorism and mass murder. A search warrant for LaChase’s Facebook account revealed several attempts by LaChase to purchase firearms, as well as threats to commit mass murder, threats to kill politicians, and statements of support for ISIS.
LaChase received an enhancement at sentencing for obstruction of justice because he disposed of the cellphone he used to send the text messages, shortly after becoming aware that he was under investigation by the FBI.
U.S. Attorney Fajardo Orshan commended the investigative efforts of the FBI and the South Florida Joint Terrorism Task Force (JTTF). The case was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorneys Rolando Garcia and Michael Porter.
Related court documents and information may be found on the website of the District Court for the Southern District of Florida at www.flsd.uscourts.gov or on http://pacer.flsd.uscourts.gov.