A New York state man who left multiple threatening messages on the voicemail of Republican Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene of Georgia in 2022 has pleaded guilty to charges filed against him.
The man who made the calls spelled out his name and left his phone number, according to Business Insider.
Joseph Morelli, 51, of Endicott, New York, pleaded guilty Wednesday, according to a Justice Department news release.
According to the affidavit used to charge Morelli, he made seven calls to Greene’s Washington office over two days in March 2022.
“Yeah, I just don’t think I can go on letting you, you know, cause hatred and poison to people. I really think I’m gonna have to cause you harm–physical harm. You’re putting commercials where you blow up a car, and you just… I don’t know if I can link you to anyone committing suicide, like a transgender person, directly to you,” the call said, according to the affidavit.
“I’m gonna have to take your life into my own hands. Yeah, I would really, really caution you not to cause someone to harm someone else because of your evilness. You’re just a horrible person,” the affidavit said the message left read.
“You know, you can file charges, and we can go to court,” he said, adding that it would allow him to say “how bad you are for humanity. You’re a pile of s–t, and if you keep up with this hatred and people get hurt, I’m gonna hurt you. Physically, I’m gonna harm you.”
The affidavit said that in another call, Morelli began by leaving his name and phone number.
He then said, “‘Majory,’ whatever the h*** your name is, redneck, you promote violence, and I think as a true patriot and humanitarian and human being, I think I’m gonna have to show you, to your face, right up front, what violence truly is, and I don’t think you’re gonna like it.”
Should Morelli face jail time?
Yes: 99% (652 Votes)
No: 1% (7 Votes)
“ I can pay someone 500 bucks to take a baseball bat and crack your skull,” he said, according to the affidavit.
“Keep spreading that hate, b****. See what the f*** happens to you. You are going to get f***ing physically hurt. Keep talking that s***, b****.”
The Justice Department release said that in another call, Morelli said, “I’m gonna make sure that, even if they lock me up, someone’s gonna get you ‘cause I’ll pay them to.”
According to the affidavit, threats were issued against law enforcement if they were to respond to any complaint about the calls.
Greene told The New York Post that Morelli was being treated better than participants in the Capitol Incursion.
“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,” Greene said.
“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. Multiple people who want to kill me have been arrested, but the DC media doesn’t report it,” Greene said. “It’s two-tiered justice and two-tiered coverage.”
The Justice Department release said Morelli could face up to five years in prison, a $250,000 fine and three years probation.
