Delray Beach Man Faces Criminal Charges For Threatening FAU Employees By Email

The First Amendment right to free speech protects you from criminal prosecution in the event that you express an unpopular opinion or criticize the public actions of a public figure.  Acts of speech that threaten specific acts of violence against specific people, however, still count as crimes, and the First Amendment does not protect these.  For example, making written threats is a felony in the second degree.  If you communicate in writing your intent to attempt to kill or injure another person, you can be convicted of making written threats.  The maximum penalty for a conviction for this crime is up to 15 years in state prison or up to 15 years of probation, plus a fine of up to $10,000.  In practice, most cases involving written threats these days include written communication transmitted by electronic means, such as email or text messages.  If you are facing criminal charges for making criminal threats because of something you said in an email or text message, contact a West Palm Beach cybercrime lawyer.

Defendant Allegedly Sent Threatening Emails to FAU Faculty Members

Professors open their email each day expecting to see notices about yet more meetings they have to attend and yet more paperwork they need to complete.  They expect to see emails from students complaining about their grades or about how difficult the coursework is.  They do not, however, expect to see death threats.

In January 2023, several faculty members at Florida Atlantic University received threatening emails.  Although news sources did not identify the FAU faculty members who received the emails by name or publish the contents of the emails in their entirety, it appears that one of the recipients was a woman named Belinda, and the emails alluded to the fact that Belinda had previously told the sender to leave her alone.  Several days later, several other faculty members received threatening emails. One of the emails included a link to a video showing a man building a bomb and detonating it.

The victims reported the emails to law enforcement, and an investigation connected the email address from which the emails originated to Christopher Revere, 35, of Delray Beach.  Revere refused to open the door or answer questions when police went to his residence to discuss the matter with him.  He is currently facing charges for making written threats.  If he is convicted of this charge, he could get a 15-year prison sentence, and the court could order him to pay a $10,000 fine.  It is unclear if, given his apparent history of harassment of Belinda, he could face additional charges.  Like all defendants in criminal cases, Revere is presumed innocent until and unless he enters a guilty plea or receives a conviction at trial.

Contact a West Palm Beach Internet Crimes Lawyer Today

Attorney William Wallshein has more than 38 years of experience, including five years as a prosecutor in Palm Beach County.  Contact William Wallshein P.A. in West Palm Beach, Florida to discuss your case.

Source:

cbs12.com/news/local/christopher-revere-written-threats-school-college-florida-atlantic-university-guns-ammo-bomb-email-tiktok-2-15-2023