Man Gets Exactly What He Asked for After Leaving MTG Threatening Voicemails, Daring Her to Press Charges
Be careful what you wish for, as they say. You just might get it.
That’s certainly the case with Joseph Francis Morelli, a New York man who left threatening voicemails for Georgia GOP Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene and dared her to press charges.
Not only that, he double-dog dared her, giving his full name in the messages. Lo and behold, he got what he was hoping for — and now faces up to five years in prison as a result.
According to Business Insider, Morelli, 51, pleaded guilty to sending the threatening voicemails in court on Wednesday.
The calls were made from Morelli’s home in upstate Endicott, New York, in March of 2022.
In one of the voicemails — which, according to The Hill, was made at 11:11 p.m. — he said “I’m gonna have to take your life into my own hands… I’m gonna hurt you. Physically, I’m gonna harm you.”
“I just don’t think I can go on letting you, you know, cause hatred and poison to people,” Morelli said, according to court documents.
“I really think I’m gonna have to cause you harm — physical harm.”
Seven minutes later, he called back and said he was going to “pay someone 500 bucks to take a baseball bat and crack your skull.”
In a third call, six minutes after that one, he made this threat: “I’m gonna make sure that, even if they lock me up, someone’s gonna get you ’cause I’ll pay them to.”
Sentencing will be on June 1, according to a media release from the Department of Justice.
Morelli faces up to 5 years in prison, a fine of up to $250,000 and supervised release of up to 3 years.
“A defendant’s sentence is imposed by a judge based on the particular statute the defendant is charged with violating, the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other factors,” the Department of Justice said in the media release.
Of course, if one is unwise enough to leave one’s full personal details on a threatening voicemail, one should expect this to happen. This doesn’t seem like an individual who’s particularly hinged, if one is to judge from the content of the threatening messages that we’re privy to.
However, as Greene noted on Twitter, it’s not as if the FBI is necessarily acting in a swift and draconian fashion regarding the threats on her life. Morelli isn’t in prison yet, which is in stark contrast to how the government is treating other “threats to democracy.”
“A man pleads guilty for planning to kill me or paying someone to do it. Now he’s at home, able to do it while awaiting sentencing,” she wrote.
“But a guy who sat at Pelosi’s desk faces 20 years & people who walked into the Capitol on [January 6] are rotting in jail pretrial.”
A man pleads guilty for planning to kill me or paying someone to do it. Now he’s at home, able to do it while awaiting sentencing.
But a guy who sat at Pelosi’s desk faces 20 years & people who walked into the Capitol on J6 are rotting in jail pretrial.https://t.co/UPX65EyPU1
— Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene🇺🇸 (@RepMTG) February 2, 2023
“The press keeps asking me about threats against Rep. [Ilhan] Omar, but none of them knew about this guilty plea for a threat against my life,” she added.
“Multiple people who want to kill me have been arrested, but the DC media doesn’t report it.
“It’s two-tiered justice and two-tiered coverage.”
The press keeps asking me about threats against Rep. Omar, but none of them knew about this guilty plea for a threat against my life.
Multiple people who want to kill me have been arrested, but the DC media doesn’t report it.
It’s two-tiered justice and two-tiered coverage.
— Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene🇺🇸 (@RepMTG) February 2, 2023
Indeed, while the press gives considerable coverage to purported threats against Omar and other members of the so-called “squad,” the threats against Greene have gone under the radar, for the most part.
Don’t get me wrong: Any kind of threat against a politician isn’t just wrong, it’s a crime. However, the fact the media fixates on threats against one politician and scarcely notices those made against another is telling. You can almost hear them saying: Yeah, but she’s Marjorie Taylor Greene, she had it coming.
That’s arguably what made Morelli confident enough to leave his details for the feds.
Unfortunately for him, law enforcement isn’t as forgiving as the media is.
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