The FBI has arrested a Queens man described by prosecutors as a Proud Boys supporter after he allegedly made online threats against Georgia Sen. Raphael Warnock.
Eduard Florea, 40, was charged with possessing ammunition as a convicted felon. WSB TV reported that authorities say he threatened to send “three cars full of armed patriots” to Washington, and prosecutors said agents found combat knives and more than 1,000 rifle rounds in his New York home. The Associated Press reported that investigators also found another post threatening Warnock’s life.
According to the criminal complaint, Florea wrote, “The time for peace and civility is over,” and said he would reach out to patriots in his area to come up with a game plan.
Florea’s attorney, federal public defender Mia Eisner Grynberg, told the AP that he is not charged with any action tied to the Capitol attack and does not condone it. She said he had no guns in his home, called the online posts “blather,” and said federal agents arrived at his home in a military tank.
U.S. Magistrate Judge Sanket Bulsara ordered Florea, who is a software engineer, held without bail, citing what he described as a premeditated plan to commit violence in New York and Washington. The charge is an allegation and the case was at an early stage.
Warnock won his Senate seat in the Jan. 5 Georgia runoff, a result that helped give Democrats control of the Senate.
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