The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Judge sentences man to 3 months for threatening calls to Greene
Ruling on request for reimbursement for security-related costs is deferred.
An upstate New York man who admitted threatening to harm Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene and show her “what violence truly is” in a series of phone calls to her Washington office last year was sentenced Thursday to three months in prison.
U.S. District Court Judge Brenda K. Sannes of Syracuse, N.Y., deferred a decision on Greene’s request that Joseph Morelli reimburse the Republican lawmaker about $67,000 for steps she took to bolster security at her Georgia home in the wake of his threats. Morelli, 51, of Endicott, N.Y., pleaded guilty in February to three counts of transmitting interstate threatening communications in connection with seven menacing messages he left for Greene over two days in March 2022.
In one message, Morelli told Greene he was going to “have to take your life into my own hands,” according to an FBI agent’s affidavit. “I’m gonna hurt you,” he added. “Physically, I’m gonna harm you.”
In a second, obscenity-laced message about 10 minutes later, Morelli spelled out his name, dictated his number and said, “I think I’m gonna have to show you, to your face, right up front, what violence truly is.”
In court filings, Morelli’s lawyer, Gabrielle Dibella, attributed his crimes to mental illness and to Greene’s own rhetoric. The congresswoman has been criticized for using inflammatory language and for, among other things, liking social media posts before her election that endorsed the execution of top Democratic politicians.
Greene’s office did not respond to a request for comment on the sentence or Sannes’ decision to defer a ruling on the restitution request.
In a docket entry before the sentencing, the judge said she did not have enough information to determine whether Morelli “caused the harm for which restitution is sought.” She gave federal prosecutors 30 days to submit additional evidence to support the request.
Greene is seeking reimbursement for 1,239 feet of chain-link and spear-top fencing, barbed wire, brick columns, concrete posts and gates at her home and for the adjustment of security cameras there, according to court filings.