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New Jersey Man Indicted for Threatening Employees of
Latino Civil Rights Organizations
TRENTON—An Ocean County man was arrested last Friday on a federal Indictment
charging him with threatening employees of five civil rights organizations that work to
improve opportunities for Latinos in the United States, U.S. Attorney Paul J. Fishman and
Thomas E. Perez, Assistant Attorney General for the Justice Department’s Civil Rights
Division, announced.
Vincent P. Johnson, 60, of Brick, will make his first appearance on the 14-count Indictment
in U.S. District Court in Trenton today at noon before U.S. Magistrate Judge Tonianne J.
Bongiovanni.
Johnson was arrested by Special Agents with the FBI on Friday, Feb. 5.
The Indictment, which was returned by a grand jury on Feb. 4 and unsealed on Feb. 5, 2010,
alleges that between November 2006 and February 2009, Johnson, using the Internet
username “Devilfish579,” repeatedly sent threatening e-mail communications to employees of
the Latino Justice Puerto Rican Legal Defense and Education Fund; the Mexican American
Legal Defense and Educational Fund; the National Council of La Raza; the League of United
Latin American Citizens; and the National Coalition of Latino Clergy and Christian Leaders.
The indictment further alleges that Johnson intended to place the victims in fear of bodily
injury and that Johnson acted because the victims were aiding and encouraging persons of
Latino descent to participate without discrimination in activities provided by the federal and
state governments.
According to the Indictment, among multiple e-mails Johnson sent, in November 2006, he
wrote “[d]o you have a last will and testament? If not, better get one real soon.”
Additionally, in January 2007, Johnson sent two e-mails to the victims, stating “[o]ur guns
are loaded and we will take you out as well whether by the courts or by true fire power” and
“[i]f the idiots in the organizations which this e-mail is being copied to can’t fathom the
serious nature of their actions, then they will be on the hit list just like any illegal
alien...actually, they are already on the list.” In February 2007, he wrote “I am giving you
fair warning that your presence and position is being tracked...you are dead meat...along with
anyone else in your organization.” In September 2007, he sent two e-mails, in which he
wrote “my preference would be to buy more ammunition to deal with the growing chaos
created by the pro-illegal alien groups. RIP [names] who are not the friends of our
democracy” and “[a]fter reading the article below can you give me simply one good reason
why someone should not put a bullet between your eyes for your actions that are promoting
lawlessness in this country?”
The Indictment charges Johnson with five counts of making interstate threatening
communications and four counts of interfering with the exercise of civil rights, each of which
carries a statutory maximum penalty of five years in prison and a fine of $250,000. Johnson
is also charged with five counts of using a computer with the intent to place a person in reasonable fear of death or bodily injury, commonly known as cyberstalking, each of which
carries a maximum penalty of 10 years in prison and a fine of $250,000.
In determining an actual sentence, the judge to whom the case is assigned would, upon a
conviction, consult the advisory U.S. Sentencing Guidelines, which provide appropriate
sentencing ranges that take into account the severity and characteristics of the offense, the
defendant's criminal history, if any, and other factors. The judge, however, is not bound by
those guidelines in determining a sentence. Parole has been abolished in the federal system.
Defendants who are given custodial terms must serve nearly all that time.
An Indictment is merely an accusation and the defendant is presumed innocent unless proven
guilty.
Fishman credited Special Agents with the FBI’s Washington Field Office for the
investigation leading to today’s arrest.
The case is being prosecuted by Trial Attorney Benjamin J. Hawk of the Civil Rights
Division and Assistant U.S. Attorney Thomas Eicher of the District of New Jersey. Press Releases | Newark Home
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