News/Commentary

Calif man who threatened to murder GOP lawmaker gets slap on the wrist, no jail time

July 30, 2022 | | Print Article

A California man who’d threatened to kill Rep. Matt Gaez and his children was sentenced to a paltry six months of house arrest, five years of probation, and a $10,000 fine, meaning no time to be spent in jail.

Eugene Huelsman, 59, received the sentence Thursday after pleading guilty in October “to a felony interstate threats charge for leaving a threatening voicemail message at Gaetz’s district office in Pensacola, Fla.,” according to Politico.

Sent on Jan. 9th, 2021, days after the Jan. 6th riot, the voicemail message called for the deaths of both the congressman and at least one of his children.

“Tell [Gaetz] to watch his back. Tell him to watch his children. I’m coming for him … I’m gonna f—ing kill him. … I’m gonna put a bullet in you and I’m gonna put a bullet in one of your f…ing kids too,” Huelsman reportedly said in the message.

He also said he hoped Gaetz would “die in a shallow grave.”

According to the Justice Department, Huelsman has a history of issuing such threats.

“The United States Capitol Police were contacted when the threat was made, which triggered security protocols related to the victim. The investigation revealed this was not the first time Huelsman made threats involving political figures. Huelsman had previously been investigated by the United States Secret Service for threatening a member of a former President’s family on social media,” the department notes.

It’s believed the former president was none other than former President Donald Trump. The irony is that it was reportedly a Trump-appointed judge, T. Kent Wetherell II, who sentenced Huelsman during a 90-minute hearing Thursday.

It’s not clear why, given the guy’s past history, he was treated to such a relatively light sentence.

Also notable about Huelsman is that he was a longtime Hollywood player.

“Huelsman has worked as a critically acclaimed camera operator in Hollywood and on high-profile television productions, garnering five Emmy nominations for his work on NBC’s ‘Late Night with Conan O’Brien,'” as noted by Politico.

The good news is he’s “lost all of his employment,” according to his attorney, though it remains to be seen whether Hollywood will stick to its guns or eventually let him back in after he’s “rehabilitated” himself.

“Words matter, and this sentencing should serve as a warning. Everyone has the right to express their opinion, but when you harass, intimidate, and threaten violence against others, it’s a federal crime that will not be tolerated. The FBI and our law enforcement partners will work to hold you accountable,” FBI special agent Sherri E. Onks said in a statement.

This isn’t the first time Gaetz has been threatened, nor will it likely be his last given the constant hate that’s directed at him by Democrats and their media allies.

In a stunning speech delivered on the House floor last October, Gaetz announced that he’d received a death threat from an alleged hitman.

He specifically claimed that a Twitter user from Portland, Oregon using the handle “CIABOBISATYOURDOOR” had posted a tweet claiming to have accepted a hit on him.

“Lookie here pal. I lived in Portland. Portland has ordered a hit on you. I accepted the contract. Have a good day,” the alleged hitman wrote.

He reportedly added that he planned to wipe Gaetz “off the surface of the earth.”

In the speech, the congressman accused the DOJ of ignoring the threat.

“It is just yet another example of the Department of Justice having a double standard. If my name weren’t Gaetz, if it were Omar or Tlaib, you bet this person would have been arrested. Because that’s what the Capitol Police recommended. But the Department of Justice doesn’t seem to care so much when it’s Republicans,” he said.

To be fair, the DOJ did take action months earlier in March of 2021 after another man issued threats on the same day that Gaetz took part in a rally in Wyoming against Rep. Liz Cheney.

“Christopher Podlesnik, 51, is charged with seven counts of transmitting threats in interstate commerce, according to the US Department of Justice. He allegedly phoned death threats to various elected officials on Jan. 28,” station WEAR reported at the time.

“According to U.S .prosecutors, Podlesnik called a contact number associated with Wyoming Senator John Barrasso, saying in part: ‘I will [expletive] see that Matt Gaetz gets killed when he gets here,'” the station added.

The congressman was also threatened in 2019, this time for the supposed crime of supporting then-President Donald Trump.

“Gaetz you pathetic piece of s–t. Do you know that I could blow your f—ing head clean off your shoulders from over a mile away? Watch your back b–ch. You pathetic little piece of s–t. You got your head so far up Trump’s a–. I could still take it off your shoulders. F–k you, Gaetz. I’m coming after you, b–tch,” the perpetrator said in an apparent voicemail message.

Vivek Saxena
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