Georgia man pleads guilty to cyber threats against Kenosha officials during 2020 unrest
A 27-year-old Georgia man has pleaded guilty to emailing death threats to Kenosha officials during the violent unrest there in 2020, and leaving one a threatening voice mail.
According to federal court records, Minjie Cao sent an email on Aug. 27, 2020 to an unidentified "government official" that read, "I will put 7 bullets in your head! This Sunday morning 9AM. Write a will now before you die!"
Two days later, Cao used his cellphone to make five calls to two more officials' office phones, and another email to one of them. It read, "If you don't fire (Individual #21), I will put 7 bullets in your head in front of your family. Deadline: August 31, 12PM EST If not, you will not see the sunlight in September."
The FBI traced the email address and phone numbers to Cao and went to his residence in Duluth, Georgia on Sept. 10. He acknowledged the address and number were his, but denied sending threats and claimed his accounts must have been hacked.
After confronted a second time, with more information, Cao admitted sending the threats "to scare them and cause them substantial emotional distress," according to his plea agreement. He said he acted because he was angry about the shooting of a Black man by Kenosha police and the unrest that followed.
Cao was indicted in September on three counts of using interstate communications systems to make threats of injury. He pleaded guilty this month to a single count of stalking as part of a plea agreement.
Cao faces up to five years in prison and a fine of up to $250,000 at his sentencing in Milwaukee federal court in October. The agreement says the government and defense attorney will recommend a three-year term of probation, with a total of 120 days in jail during the first year.
According to online professional sites and his Facebook page, Cao is a graduate of Emory University's law school, near Atlanta.
The violence in Kenosha that month began after Kenosha police Officer Rusten Sheskey shot Jacob Blake in the back when he refused officers' orders during a response to a domestic dispute.
Bystander video of the incident quickly went viral, leading to protests and demonstrations that turned violent with major arsons downtown.
Two nights later, Kyle Rittenhouse, then 17, fatally shot two demonstrators and wounded a third. A jury acquitted Rittenhouse, who testified he acted in self-defense, of all charges in November.
Contact Bruce Vielmetti at (414) 224-2187 or bvielmetti@jrn.com. Follow him on Twitter at @ProofHearsay.
This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: Man pleads guilty to threatening Kenosha officials during 2020 unrest
