A New York man has pleaded guilty to making an online hate-crime threat against Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel because she is a lesbian and Jewish.
Kevin Delgado, 40, of Bayside, New York, posted a threatening reply to Nessel’s October 21, 2023, post on X, formerly Twitter, about a friend who was murdered, says a press release from the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Michigan.
“According to Nessel’s account, the friend was Samantha Woll, a prominent Jewish leader and political activist who was found stabbed to death outside her Detroit home that same day,” the Detroit Free Press reports.
In the post, Nessel included a photograph of Woll and wrote, “I am shocked, saddened and horrified to learn of Sam’s brutal murder. Sam was as kind a person as I’ve ever known. She was driven by her sincere love of her community, state and country. Sam truly used her faith and activism to create a better place for everyone.” Woll had worked on several campaigns for Democratic candidates, including Nessel, who is in her second term as AG and is the first out statewide elected official in Michigan.
Delgado posted his threatening comment the next day. “Watch every step u take u disgusting drunk … Nazi you will be #murdered,” he wrote, according to the indictment, quoted by The Detroit News.
He pleaded guilty Monday to one count of transmitting threats in interstate commerce. He admitted that he threatened Nessel because of her religion and her perceived sexual orientation, the release states.
“Threatening public officials is both illegal and unacceptable. The hateful comments made by Mr. Delgado online were especially outrageous,” Cheyvoryea Gibson, the special agent in charge of the FBI in Michigan, which investigated the case, said in the release. “The FBI will continue to work with our law enforcement partners to identify and hold accountable those who make these dangerous and harmful threats against officials dedicated to serving and protecting our communities.”
Delgado will be sentenced by U.S. District Court Judge Nancy G. Edmunds on September 22. The maximum sentence he can receive is five years in prison.