Rochester Man Pleads Guilty To Threatening President Obama

CONTACT:      Barbara Burns
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ROCHESTER, N.Y. - U.S. Attorney William J. Hochul, Jr. announced today that Brandon Correa, 31, of Rochester, NY, pleaded guilty to making a threat against the president of the United States before U.S. District Court Judge Elizabeth A. Wolford. The charge carries a maximum penalty of five years in prison, a fine of up to $250,000, or both.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Craig R. Gestring, who is handling the case, stated that the defendant posted online threats to kill President Obama in June 2014. Specifically, Correa posted a message on Twitter directed to President Barack Obama in which the defendant wrote “Im coming to watch you die.” The defendant was interviewed shortly after posting the threats and told a Secret Service Agent that the President was “evil” and that he had to “die.”

Correa was released from custody following the threat and was ordered not to have any contact with the President as a condition of his release. However, in August of 2014, the defendant again posted online threats directed against the President and others. Specifically, Correa posted messages on Facebook and Twitter directed to President Obama in which he wrote “GET READY to DIE Barack Obama.”

The plea is the culmination of an investigation on the part of Special Agents of the United States Secret Service, under the direction of Special Agent in Charge, C. Todd Laster, and Investigators from the New York State Police, Protective Services Unit, under the direction of Major Stephen Nevins.

Sentencing is scheduled for December 21, 2015 at 10:00 a.m. before Judge Wolford.