Rochester Man Sentenced For Threatening President Obama

CONTACT:      Barbara Burns
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FAX:            (716) 551-3051

ROCHESTER, N.Y. - U.S. Attorney William J. Hochul, Jr. announced today that Brandon Correa, 31, of Rochester, who was convicted of making threats against the President, was sentenced to 18 months in prison by U.S. District Court Judge Elizabeth A. Wolford. The defendant was also sentenced to 36 months supervised release, during which time he will need to complete mental health and drug treatment.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Craig R. Gestring, who handled the case, stated that the defendant posted threats to kill President Obama online in June 2014. Specifically, Correa posted a message on Twitter directed to President Barack Obama in which the defendant wrote “Im coming to watch you die.” The defendant was interviewed shortly after posting the threats and told a Secret Service Agent that the President was “evil” and that he had to “die.”

Correa was released from custody following the threat and was ordered not to have any contact with the President as a condition of his release. However, in August of 2014, the defendant again posted online threats directed against the President and others. Specifically, Correa posted messages on Facebook and Twitter directed to President Obama in which he wrote “GET READY to DIE Barack Obama.”

The sentencing is the culmination of an investigation on the part of Special Agents of the United States Secret Service, under the direction of Special Agent in Charge, C. Todd Lassiter, Investigators from the New York State Police, Protective Services Unit, under the direction of Major Stephen Nevins, and Investigators from the Rochester Police Department, under the direction of Chief Michael Ciminelli.