Leah B. Foley United States Attorney for the District of Massachusetts | Department of Justice
A Wilbraham, Massachusetts man was sentenced on Mar. 25 in federal court in Springfield to 32 months in prison for making violent threats online targeting public officials, private individuals, children, and an elementary school.
Funwayo Mbilini Nyawo, also known as Jonathan Funwayo Nyawo, Michael Jacobs, Robert Jacobs, and Carl Fields, pleaded guilty in July 2025 to multiple counts of interstate transmission of threatening communications and stalking through interstate commerce. He was indicted by a federal grand jury in March 2025. U.S. District Court Judge Mark G. Mastroianni ordered that Nyawo serve three years of supervised release after his prison term.
According to the U.S. Attorney's Office for the District of Massachusetts, between July 30 and Oct. 1, 2024, Nyawo posted several threats on X (formerly Twitter) that referenced killing or bombing various targets including elected officials and their families; a former police officer; private citizens; local officials; members of the Wilbraham Police Department and Fire Department; two shopping malls; an elementary school in Springfield; and children from Wilbraham and Boston. Many posts urged Islamic terrorist groups or so-called holy warriors to carry out acts of violence.
Between Aug. 17 and Oct. 1, 2024, authorities said Nyawo used X with the intent to harass or intimidate an elected United States official along with their family members.
The sentencing was announced by United States Attorney Leah B. Foley alongside Ted E. Docks from the Federal Bureau of Investigation's Boston Division and J. Thomas Manger from the United States Capitol Police. The investigation received assistance from local law enforcement agencies including the Wilbraham Police Department.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Steven H. Breslow prosecuted the case.
