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An ardent supporter of Donald Trump who called for the “slaughter” of members of Congress two days after the Capitol riot faces up to 10 years in prison after a jury found him guilty of threatening lawmakers.
On 8 January, two days after the assault on the Capitol, Brendan Hunt posted a video titled “KILL YOUR SENATORS: Slaughter them all” to a website popular with the far-right.
He also posted several threats on social media in December targeting Democratic lawmakers, including House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer and US Rep Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez.
The 37-year-old was arrested on 19 January. He will be sentenced in June.
“We need to go back to the US Capitol, when all of the senators and a lot of the representatives are back there, and this time we have to show up with our guns,” he said in a video posted to BitChute. “And we need to slaughter these mother*******.”
On the right-wing platform Parler, he also called for Trump supporters to “bring your guns” to the Capitol on 20 January, the date of Joe Biden’s inauguration, according to court documents.
Attorneys for Mr Hunt, who was prosecuted in US District Court in Brooklyn, argued that his comments made from his home in Queens were constitutionally protected speech that did not constitute legitimate threats, despite their content.
In testimony to the court on Tuesday, Hunt said he was joining in with inflammatory online rhetoric at the time and was under the influence of drugs and alcohol while posting.
The jury returned a verdict after three hours of deliberation on Wednesday.
Though he did not participate in the deadly riots at the Capitol on 6 January, he is among the first to be convicted of crimes in connection with the attacks, and the first to face a prison sentence for online threats made in its wake.
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