(The Center Square) – Punishment for a North Carolina man convicted of threatening to kill an American president and later a Secret Service agent is 27 months.
The penalty in Florida for a North Carolinian’s assassination attempt of a presidential candidate is expected to be a lot more.
Michael James Ferr, 31, of Raleigh, was sentenced Friday by District Judge James C. Dever III in Raleigh at the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of North Carolina. On Aug. 19, he pleaded guilty to charges of threatening to kill then-President Joe Biden via social media on Jan. 10, and during a face-to-face interview on Jan. 14 threatening to kill a Secret Service agent conducting the investigation.
Speaking for federal prosecutors, U.S. Attorney Ellis Boyle said, “This sentence makes one thing clear: threatening to murder the President of the United States or any federal agents sworn to protect our nation will bring swift and serious consequences. We do not tolerate violent statements that cross the line into criminal threats.”
Megham Dubea, resident agent in charge from the Raleigh Resident Office of the Secret Service, in a statement said, “We are thankful for the Raleigh Police Department and for the United States Attorney’s Office for ensuring Michael Ferr was held accountable.”
In a more highly publicized case, Greensboro’s Ryan Routh – also former resident of Hawaii – faces sentencing on Thursday of next week in Florida. He was convicted Sept. 23 of a plot to kill Donald Trump, then a former president and presidential candidate, 12 months earlier while he golfed in West Palm Beach, Fla.
Routh faces the possibility of life without parole. Compared to Ferr, his charges have more length. He was found guilty of attempted assassination of a major presidential candidate; possessing a firearm in furtherance of a crime of violence; assaulting a federal officer; felon in possession of a firearm and ammunition; and possession of a firearm with an obliterated serial number.
