ICYMI: Sandy Hook Parent’s Life Threatened by Tampa Woman, Feds Say

TAMPA, FL — A 57-year-old Tampa woman who reportedly believes the Sandy Hook massacre never happened faces four federal charges for threatening the life of a parent whose child died during the Dec. 14, 2012, mass shooting at a Connecticut elementary school.

Lucy Richards began making threats against the parent, who now lives in South Florida, in January 2016, the U.S. Justice Department announced Wednesday. “Richards’ belief that the school shooting was a hoax and never happened allegedly motivated her to make the charged threats,” the justice department noted in a statement.

Richards was brought into custody on Dec. 5 with her arrest announced Wednesday. Her initial appearance in federal court is scheduled for Dec. 19. She was indicted on four counts of transmitting threats in interstate commerce.

See also: Florida University Fires Sandy Hook Truther Professor

Authorities say Richards’ first threat against the parent, who has not been named, was made on or about Jan. 10. That was only a few days after Florida Atlantic University professor James Tracy was let go by the school because his alleged conspiracy theories about the shooting at Sandy Hook drew negative attention.

The shooting at the Newtown, Connecticut, school left 20 children and six educators dead. Since then many parents of victims have had to deal with conspiracy theories, most of which say the shooting was a hoax staged by gun control advocates. A New York man, for example, was arrested in November 2015 after he allegedly harassed the sister of victim Vicki Soto at a benefit race held in her honor. The man, Matthew Mills, was accused of shoving a picture of Vicki Soto in her sister’s face and claiming she never existed.

See also: Gunman Targeted Pizza Shop Over Face ‘PizzaGate’ Scandal: Police

The announcement of Richards’ arrest comes as the topic of hoax news stories has hit a fevered pitch across the country. Over the weekend, a man armed with a gun walked into the Comet Ping Pong restaurant in Washington, D.C., saying he was there to investigate “PizzaGate.” That bizarre conspiracy theory put forward during the election alleged that Hillary Clinton staffers used the pizza joint for an underground child-trafficking ring. The movement has no credible evidence on its side.

Edgar Maddison Welch, 28, of Salisbury, North Carolina, was arrested on assault with a dangerous weapon charges following the Sunday brouhaha at Comet Ping Pong.

"During a post-arrest interview this evening, the suspect revealed that he came to the establishment to self-investigate 'PizzaGate' (a fictitious online conspiracy theory)," a police report states.

As for Richards, the justice department said she faces a maximum sentence of up to five years on each of the four counts if convicted.

With reporting by Patch’s Dan Taylor

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