ALEXANDRIA, Va. - A Washington D.C. man pleaded guilty today to using Facebook to threaten to kill his supervisor.
According to the statement of facts filed with the plea agreement, Romeo B. Twalla, 34, was an armed Protective Service Officer for the Ronald Reagan Building in Washington, D.C. After being placed on leave for absences at work, Twalla began posting threats on his Facebook page to kill his supervisor. In one post, Twalla warned that if he lost his home, his supervisor would lose his life. Twalla also posted that he had “two clips" (referring to ammunition to carry out the threats), and that Federal Protective Services could not protect the victim from Twalla because “those buildings in D.C. coming down!"
Twalla pleaded guilty to two counts of transmitting threats in interstate commerce to injure the person of another, and faces a maximum of 5 years in prison on each count when sentenced on September 12. Actual sentences for federal crimes are typically less than the maximum penalties. A federal district court judge will determine any sentence after taking into account the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.
Dana J. Boente, U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia; and L. Eric Patterson, Director of the Federal Protective Service, made the announcement after U.S. District Judge Gerald Bruce Lee accepted the plea. Assistant U.S. Attorney Nathaniel Smith III and Special Assistant U.S. Attorney Lilian Timmermann are prosecuting the case.
A copy of this press release is located on the website of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Virginia. Related court documents and information is located on the website of the District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia or on PACER by searching for Case No. 1:17-cr-146.
Source: U.S. Department of Justice, Office of the United States Attorneys
