Ilhan Omar and Eric Swalwell said Wednesday they were two of the three lawmakers who received a call from a Florida man who was convicted of threatening to kill and behead members of Congress.
Frank Anthony Pezzuto, 73, was found guilty on Wednesday by a federal jury of sending 'three separate threatening communications to injure certain members of Congress,' according to the U.S. Attorney's Office in the Middle District of Florida.
'The use of violent rhetoric in political speech is incitement & is definitely creating an environment where members of Congress are receiving constant death threats. Enough!' the progressive Democratic representative from Minnesota tweeted.
'Today, Florida man who left this chilling message with my staff was convicted,' she added.
Swalwell tweeted: Thank you to prosecution team at @DOJCrimDiv for convicting Anthony Pezzuto, who threatened to kill me & 2 of my colleagues. Too many people today are choosing violence over voting to enact political change. We must hold all to account.'
Pezzuto faces a maximum penalty of five years in federal prison following the conviction – a sentencing date has not been set.
A February 3, 2020 call presented as evidence in the case was to a congresswoman identified as I.O., Omar's initials.
Pezzuto, who was concealing his number on all three calls, told the person who answered the phone in Omar's office: 'Tell her I'm going to kill her today.'
Democratic Representatives Ilhan Omar (left) and Eric Swalwell (right) confirmed Wednesday they were two of the lawmakers who received a call from a Florida man convicted of threatening members of Congress
Omar said Frank Anthony Pezzuto, 73, left a 'chilling message' with her staff after he called her office February 3, 2020 and said: 'Tell her I'm going to kill her today'
Omar is a far-left lawmakers part of the progressive 'squad,' which includes the likes of Representatives Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and Rashida Tlaib.
The other two lawmakers threatened by the Florida man were identified in the case as congressmen E.S. – Eric Swalwell – and A.S.
Pezzuto called Swalwell's office on January 25, 2020 and said he was coming to kill him, according to evidence presented during the trial.
On January 30, 2020, he called A.S.'s office claiming he was a gang member of MS-13 and said they were coming to cut off the congressman's head.
The calls were made from Pezzuto's Florida home from his cell phone, the U.S. Attorney's Office said.
The case was investigated by Capitol Police, who were able to identify Pezzuto as the caller despite him concealing his number.
Swalwell said people are 'choosing violence over voting' to try and get political change in the U.S.
In May 2021, then-Acting Capitol Police Chief Yogananda Pittman said death threats against members of Congress doubled this year – following the January 6 Capitol attack.
Other members of both parties have reported receiving death threats and violent messages.
Staffers who work for Republican representatives who voted for the Bipartisan Infrastructure Deal last Friday told Business Insider that their offices received threatening and abusive calls this week.
Representative Fred Upton, a GOP member who also voted for the bill last week, said his office this week received a voicemail filled with expletives and wishing death upon his family and staff.
Brendan Hunt, a Trump supporter from New York, was convicted in April of threatening to kill lawmakers. In January, he posted a video titled 'KILL YOUR SENATORS: Slaughter them all' where he threatened to go to Joe Biden's inauguration and 'shoot them and kill them.'
The issue of threatening lawmakers has already garnered additional attention this week after Arizona Republican Representative Paul Gosar posted an anime video Monday of his face superimposed on a character killing another character with the face of Ocasio-Cortez.
Lawmakers condemned the video, but Gosar said people are being sensitive, claiming it's 'just a cartoon.'
Representative Adam Schiff, a Democrat from California, tweeted: 'There was a time when making light of murdering a colleague would elicit unified outrage. But not in McCarthy's GOP.'
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