Tallahassee Man Pleads Guilty to Interstate Stalking: Sent About $2,000 in $1 Payments Carrying Threats, Faces Up to 5 Years
The U.S. Attorney's Office for the Northern District of Florida announced that Matthew D. Weger, 33, of Tallahassee, Florida, has pleaded guilty in federal court to interstate stalking. U.S. Attorney John P. Heekin announced the plea.
Heekin said the successful prosecution ensures the defendant will be held accountable for the numerous criminal threats he made toward the victim over the course of several months, and that his office will not hesitate to aggressively prosecute anyone whose behavior exceeds the limits of constitutionally protected speech and crosses the line into criminal threats.
Court documents show that law enforcement received a tip regarding threatening statements the defendant made against law enforcement officers. Investigators learned that the defendant had been stalking the individual from at least December 14, 2023, through June 25, 2024, leaving threatening messages and voicemails, including threats to kill. The defendant refused to stop calling and messaging; after the individual blocked his number, he was still able to leave voicemails.
The defendant also sent the individual payments through Cash App of $1.00 each, totaling approximately $2,000, with each payment accompanied by a threatening message.
Weger faces up to 5 years' imprisonment. Sentencing is scheduled for February 5, 2027, at 1:00 p.m. before U.S. District Judge T. Kent Wetherell II in Tallahassee.
The case was investigated jointly by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF), the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), and the Tallahassee Police Department, and is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Eric Welch. It is part of the Department of Justice's Operation Take Back America. (Source: U.S. Attorney's Office for the Northern District of Florida)
Source: U.S. Attorney's Office for the Northern District of Florida
Published by GSM · USA (original Chinese edition)
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