The Department of Justice on Friday announced a two-count indictment against a Florida man who allegedly made a series of online posts threatening to kill interim U.S. Attorney for New Jersey Alina Habba.
The DOJ identified Salvatore Russotto, a 58-year-old resident of Orlando, as the alleged perpetrator. The suspect is accused of making threats on X with the number 86, which law enforcement interprets to mean assassination. In the context of restaurants and bars, 86 often means a menu item is no longer available.
Russotto posted threatening messages, such as “Eliminate HABBA. 86 Traitor. Death penalty for all traitors” and “I HOPE YOU DIE A PAINFUL DEATH,” according to a DOJ press release.
The indictment includes one count of threatening to injure and kill Habba and a second count of retaliating against a federal law enforcement officer by threat. If convicted on both, Russotto could face up to 10 years in federal prison.
The indictment was announced by interim U.S. Attorney for the Middle District of Florida Greg Kehoe.
Kehoe’s office did not elaborate on Russotto’s motivation for the posts on May 19. However, those messages came on the same day Habba announced she was charging Rep. LaMonica McIver (D-NJ) for forcibly impeding law enforcement outside an immigration facility in Newark, New Jersey.
McIver participated in the viral altercation last month in which federal officers attempted to arrest Newark Mayor Ras Baraka. Habba initially charged Baraka for trespassing before dropping the case. Baraka is now suing Habba, saying the prosecution against him was politically motivated.
Earlier this week, McIver pleaded not guilty to the charges for assaulting and interfering with Department of Homeland Security officials. Her trial is scheduled to start Nov. 10.
President Donald Trump appointed Habba, his former White House counselor and personal attorney in several criminal cases, to serve as the interim U.S. Attorney for New Jersey in March. Trump is expected to permanently nominate her to the position, the Wall Street Journal reported on Friday.
Friday’s unsealed indictment comes one month after former FBI Director James Comey made an Instagram post featuring a photo of seashells spelling “86 47.” The message was seen as a supposed reference to assassinating Trump, who is the 47th president.
Despite previously serving in law enforcement, Comey said he didn’t know the numbers were associated with violence. Furthermore, he said the seashells were arranged on the beach by someone else. Still, he deleted the post after facing backlash.
Trump called out Comey for his explanation.
“He knew exactly what that meant. A child knows what that meant,” Trump told Fox News host Bret Baier in May. “If you’re the FBI director, and you don’t know what that meant, that meant ‘assassination,’ and it says it loud and clear.”
Trump’s current FBI director, Kash Patel, has said his agency is looking into many potential “copycat” threats against the president and administration officials following Comey’s post. The FBI is also investigating Comey over the supposed threat.
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Patel praised the FBI for bringing Russotto to justice.
“A dangerous copycat, fueled by reckless rhetoric from former officials, threatened those protecting our country,” Patel posted on X. “Political violence has no place here. Proud of our [FBI Tampa] and thankful to our Florida partners for acting fast to deliver justice.”