A Miami man pleaded guilty to sending explicit death threats on social media aimed at Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Department of State Special Envoy Kristi Noem, the U.S. Attorney's Office reported Wednesday.
Jon Christopher Enriquez, 47, admitted to three counts of transmitting threats through interstate communications during his court appearance last Friday. According to federal prosecutors, Enriquez used the social media platform X on May 27 to publish three separate public posts over the course of an afternoon, threatening that both officials would be executed at specific times.
“Threatening to execute public officials is not political speech, it is a federal crime,” said Miami U.S. Attorney Jason A. Reding Quiñones in a statement. “Enriquez used a public platform to issue repeated, specific threats against Secretary Rubio and Special Envoy Noem. Today’s guilty plea makes clear that those who attempt to terrorize public servants or intimidate them through threats of violence will be swiftly identified, prosecuted, and held accountable.”
Enriquez now faces up to five years in federal prison for each count.
Prosecutors said the Diplomatic Security Service led the investigation with local and federal partners, including the Naval Criminal Investigative Service, the Florida Department of Law Enforcement, City of Miami Police Department, and Miami-Dade Sheriff's Office. Assistant U.S. Attorney Nicholas Y. Carré is prosecuting the case.
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