A former Florida congressional candidate was sentenced to three years in prison on Wednesday for threatening to kill his opponent in a primary race in 2021.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
William Robert Braddock III, 41, of St. Petersburg, was sentenced in Tampa federal court after being charged with interstate transmission of threat to injure. He pleaded guilty in February.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
According to court documents, Braddock viewed Rep. Anna Paulina Luna\u2002<\/u><\/a>(R-Fla.), who was the Republican frontrunner in Florida\u2019s 13th Congressional District, as \u201chis only obstacle to winning that race.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n While campaigning, Braddock, a former marine, would disparage Luna and her peers to inject himself into his life. During a 2021 phone call with Luna\u2019s acquaintance, a private citizen, Braddock threatened to have Luna murdered if she continued to poll well, specifically to \u201ccall up my Russian-Ukrainian hit squad\u201d and make her \u201cdisappear,\u201d according to a release<\/u><\/a> from the Department of Justice (DOJ). <\/p>\n\n\n\n Braddock subsequently fled to Thailand and eventually settled in the Philippines.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Authorities detained him in Manila in 2023, and he was then transported to Los Angeles for trial before a federal district judge. <\/p>\n\n\n\n His charge carried a maximum sentence of five years in prison. <\/p>\n\n\n\n