WASHINGTON (AP) - Federal prosecutors say a Virginia man has been sentenced to five years in prison for making threats to workers at the Arab American Institute.
The U.S. Department of Justice says in a news release that 61-year-old William Patrick Syring of Arlington sent more than 700 emails to institute workers between 2012 and 2017, leading to five death threats. Prosecutors say he threatened AAI employees because of their efforts to encourage Arab Americans to participate in political and civic life in the U.S.
Court documents said Syring pleaded guilty in 2008 to sending threatening emails to AAI employees. Evidence presented at trial showed that Syring used nearly identical language that he admitted were threats in 2008 as he did in 2017.
Syring was convicted in May and was sentenced on Thursday.
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