Man convicted for 4th time of sending threats to officials, journalists

BRIDGEPORT, Conn. (AP) — A Connecticut man with a history of writing threats to public officials, including a U.S. president and a Supreme Court justice, has been convicted for a fourth time after prosecutors say he mailed more than 100 additional threatening letters.

Garrett Santillo, 43, pleaded guilty Thursday in U.S. District Court to a single count of mailing threatening communications to a United States judge.

Prosecutors say that between December 2021 and June 2022, Santillo who lived in both Florida and Hamden, Connecticut, mailed letters to politicians, journalists, and judges, including a U.S. Supreme Court justice, that included threats such as, “You will die. You will all be killed.”

Many of the letters to journalists mentioned their coverage of race-related issues, prosecutors said.

Santillo’s convictions for sending threats date back to 2003, prosecutors said. He served five years of probation after a similar conviction in 2016.

When authorities searched his home in Florida in 2014, they found several handwritten letters, including one to President Barack Obama in which he threatened to kill the president, according to court documents.

His attorneys have argued Santillo suffers from mental health and cognitive issues.

A sentencing date is not scheduled. Santillo has been free on a $100,000 bond since his arrest on July 6, 2022.

Under a plea agreement a judge is expected to impose a sentence of between 27 and 33 months in prison. The charge carries a maximum penalty of 10 years behind bars.