Overview
- The criminal complaint says a graphic email sent to Rep. Randy Fine on Aug. 18 threatened to behead him, burn his home, murder his family, and concluded with the line “DEATH TO RANDY FINE AND DEATH TO DONALD TRUMP.”
- Investigators from the FBI, the Brevard County Sheriff’s Office, the U.S. Capitol Police and the Secret Service traced the message to Columbus, Ohio and arrested 26-year-old Alex Justin Miller, who was charged on Aug. 25 with interstate transmission of a threat to injure.
- Miller faces a single federal count that carries a maximum sentence of five years in prison if he is convicted under the interstate-threat statute.
- Authorities say the message came from a nonconstituent outside Florida on primary election day, a timing that officials and the congressman say heightens security concerns for elected officials.
- Rep. Fine, who said this is the fourth arrest tied to threats against him in the past decade, praised investigators and urged stronger protections for lawmakers as prosecutors pursue a federal case that could shape how online threats are handled.