Threats to kill Obama, DA net 5 years in federal prison

DALLAS — A 21-year-old Austin, Texas, man was sentenced Tuesday to more than five years in federal prison for threatening to kill President Barack Obama and a U.S. district attorney. He also vowed to destroy federal buildings, officials said.

Gavin Friedman pleaded guilty to one count of making a threat against the president and three counts of mailing threatening communications. He was sentenced to 63 months, U.S. Attorney John Parker said.

In January 2016, Friedman mailed a letter threatening Obama’s life and said that the president would be killed so Friedman could be martyred in the name of Allah, according to case documents.

Friedman also sent a letter in September 2016 threatening to use an explosive to destroy the FBI field office in Houston and the White House, documents said.

He also wrote two letters to the U.S. attorney for the Western District of Texas that threatened to kill him and stated that Friedman had hired people to kidnap and kill the U.S. attorney’s family, Parker said.