Florida Man Charged After Allegedly Threatening To Kill Political Rival With ‘Hit Squad’

A former Republican congressional candidate in Florida has been charged with threatening to send a “Russian-Ukrainian hit squad” to kill his political opponent during their 2022 primary race.

William Robert Braddock III, who was recently deported back to the U.S. from the Philippines to face charges, made his first court appearance Thursday in Los Angeles, the U.S. Department of Justice announced Friday in a press release.

The 41-year-old faces one count of interstate transmission of a true threat to injure another person, which carries a maximum sentence of five years in prison.

Current Florida Rep. Anna Paulina Luna (R) had accused Braddock of stalking her and wanting her dead during their highly contentious campaign battle to fill the Clearwater-area seat of then-Rep. Charlie Crist (D), who announced plans to run for governor instead of seek reelection.

In one phone call with an acquaintance of his opponent on June 8, 2021, Braddock allegedly threatened to “call up my Russian-Ukrainian hit squad” and make Luna disappear, according to the Justice Department’s press release (which didn’t identify Luna by name).

And in a recorded call obtained by Politico, Braddock allegedly told a conservative activist that he was willing to kill Luna for “the good” of the country.

“I really don’t want to have to end anybody’s life for the good of the people of the United States of America,” he said. “That will break my heart. But if it needs to be done, it needs to be done. Luna is a fucking speed bump in the road. She’s a dead squirrel you run over every day when you leave the neighborhood.”

Braddock moved to the Philippines amid an investigation into the threats, the Justice Department said.

The FBI and St. Petersburg Police Department were investigating the case, with assistance from the Justice Department and U.S. Marshals Service, as well as the Philippine Department of Justice and its immigration bureau.

A spokesperson for Luna’s office told HuffPost Monday that they are unable to comment on the indictment but that Luna has faced a “growing number of death threats” within the past month.

“Female members of Congress are disproportionately targeted for stalking, violence, and harassment compared to their male counterparts. This alarming trend points to a broader and more disturbing issue of violence in the political arena,” they said in a statement.

Attempts to reach an attorney for Braddock were not immediately successful.