A New York man was sentenced to three months in prison this week for making threatening phone calls to Georgia Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene’s congressional office in Washington.
Joseph Morelli, 51, of Endicott, admitted earlier this year to leaving a series of disturbing voicemail messages directed at the firebrand Republican in March of last year.
Federal Judge Brenda K. Sannes handed down the sentence in Syracuse on Thursday.
“I’m gonna have to take your life into my own hands … I’m gonna hurt you. Physically, I’m gonna harm you,” Morelli said in one menacing message left on March 3, 2022, according to prosecutors.
A second voicemail message that same day said, in part, “I’m gonna have to show you, to your face, right up front, what violence truly is, and I don’t think you’re gonna like it … I can pay someone 500 bucks to take a baseball bat and crack your skull … You are going to get f–king physically hurt.”
In a third call, Morelli said, “You’re gonna cause people to get hurt, so I’m gonna have to hurt you physically … I’m gonna make sure that, even if they lock me up, someone’s gonna get you ‘cause I’ll pay them, too.”
Morelli was indicted in April of 2022 on three counts of transmitting interstate threatening communications and pleaded guilty to the charges in February.
Greene is not the only person Morelli has been accused of threatening.
Sannes noted at his sentencing that Morelli has previously threatened former Judge Joseph J. Cassata and others, according to The Post-Standard.
Assistant US Attorney Richard Southwick argued in court that he has exhibited past aggressive behavior and was “seeking confrontation with an authority figure.”
Greene is seeking $66,632 in restitution from Morelli, arguing that his threats forced her to beef up security at her Georgia home, including the addition of more than 1,200 feet of fencing and upgrading security cameras on the property.
Sannes deferred a decision on the matter of restitution.
Greene’s office did not respond to The Post’s request for comment.