VIRGINIA BEACH, Va. – The Virginia Beach man who was arrested in February for threatening Senator Mark Warner pleaded guilty Thursday to threatening to assault a U.S. official.
Anthony Butkiewicz III
Anthony Butkiewicz III was said to have left several threatening voicemails at Senator Warner’s Richmond office that escalated violently. He was charged with a single-count indictment with threatening to assault Warner, with intent to impede, intimidate and interfere with Warner while he was engaged in the performance of his official duties.
The maximum penalties for the offense are six years in prison and a fine of $250,000 or more.
Butkiewicz’s first threat against Warner demanded that the senator hold a town hall meeting in Norfolk where Butkiewicz said, “I would personally like to stand face to face with you and I will punch you in the jaw! And you can lock me up and put me in jail, my friend! I ain’t got a problem with it.”
After threatening the senator with assault and battery, Butkiewicz added, “[S]tick your head between your f*****g legs and kiss your a** goodbye because we’ve got a bullet right for your ear!”
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According to court documents, the “we” in that statement included Lee Boyd Malvo, one of the D.C. snipers. The court documents also say Butkiewicz apparently intended to act in concert with a terrorist.
He went on to say, “Walk outside your f*****g front door, my friend! Don’t forget, buddy! Just don’t f*****g forget [makes shooting sound]. I’ll f*****g pop you, climb down out of the tree, and get in my car and drive the f**k away. It is f*****g real easy buddy.”
This isn’t the first time Butkiewicz has been in trouble with the law. For the past 15 years, court documents say he has been under a restraining order prohibiting him from making contact with his ex-girlfriend and mother of his child. Records say he threatened to travel to her home and kill her.
Butkiewicz is scheduled to be sentenced on October 17.
