A man pleaded guilty in Los Angeles federal court to threatening to kill U.S. Rep. Maxine Waters, a California Democrat highly critical of President Trump.
Anthony Scott Lloyd, 45, pleaded guilty before U.S. District Judge Stephen Wilson on Monday to one count of threatening a federal official in connection with a crude, expletive-laden voicemail message he left with the congresswoman’s D.C. office on Oct. 22.
“This message is directed to Maxine Waters herself,” Mr. Lloyd said in the message, according to his plea agreement. “If you continue to threaten the President, which you’ve done this morning with your comments about what you’re going to do, what you said at your little [expletive] conference, if you continue to make threats towards the President, you’re going to wind up dead, Maxine, ’cause we’ll kill you,” he said, using a slur for gay men.
“You can call the FBI, you can call the NSA, you can call whoever the [expletive] you want and report this and try to get a surge or some kind of [expletive] phone number. [Expletive], if you do it again, you’re dead. You’re a [expletive] dead ass [expletive],” Mr. Lloyd added through a series of curse words and a racial epithet.
Ms. Waters had recently appeared at a pro-LGBT event and told attendees they had inspired her to “take out Trump.”
Mr. Lloyd “left this recorded message with the intent to impede, intimidate, interfere with and retaliate against Congresswoman Waters, while she was engaged in and on account of the performance of her official duties,” according to his plea agreement.
“Mr. Lloyd is mortified by his conduct, which had nothing to do with Congresswoman Waters and everything to do with the circumstances of his own life at the time of the incident. With this guilty plea, he offers an unequivocal apology,” attorney Jerod Gunsberg said in a written statement read in court Monday, The Los Angeles Times reported.
Defense counsel declined to discuss Mr. Lloyd’s plea outside court, a local NBC affiliate reported.
Ms. Waters’ office did not immediately return an email seeking comment.
Mr. Lloyd has been scheduled to appear before Judge Wilson again for a sentencing hearing currently set for July 16. He faces a statutory maximum sentence of 10 years in federal prison, according to the Department of Justice.
Ms. Waters has been a staunch critic of Mr. Trump’s policies and has repeatedly called for his removal from office, in turn making her a frequent target of the president’s own tirades.
“She’s a low IQ individual,” Mr. Trump said. “You can’t help it.”
Mr. Lloyd is a resident of San Pedro, according to local media, a community south of downtown Los Angeles that neighbors an area represented in Congress by Ms. Waters.
• Andrew Blake can be reached at ablake@washingtontimes.com.
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