Tampa Dentist Threatened Election Official, Public Figures: DOJ

TAMPA, FL — A Florida dentist accused of threatening public figures and an election official for nearly a year has pleaded guilty, according to the U.S. Department of Justice.

Justice officials said Richard Glenn Kantwill, 61, of Tampa, pleaded guilty to sending at least 100 threats to public figures regarding their political commentary from September 2019 to July 2020.

What was written in the threats was not revealed in a news release by prosecutors. They included a threat emailed to an author, one texted to a religious persona and one Instagrammed to a TV personality, the DOJ said.

WFLA cited court documents that said the messages were a mix of threats, racial slurs, and support for President-Elect Donald Trump. The racial slurs were redacted in court files:

“You, sir, are a degenerate piece of s—. read your article about The Great Donald Trump. It is so blatantly prejudiced that you don’t even attempt to be impartial, you [redacted]. You are gay…I can tell. F– you. I love what Trump does and where he stays. … God bless the Great President Trump and his family. F– you and yours. Hire extra security…you’re gonna need it.”

Another message called a victim a “fake Reverend,” court documents said.

Kantwill also sent a text message to investigators after refusing to speak with FBI agents.

“God bless America!!! F— Biden!!!!” Kantwill wrote, followed by another middle finger emoji, WFLA said.

Justice officials claimed the threats did not end in 2020. They allege Kantwill used Facebook to send at least seven threats to four public figures and an out-of-state election official starting in April 2022 and ending this past April.

Kantwill pleaded guilty to four counts of interstate transmission of a threat, the DOJ said. He faces a maximum penalty of five years in prison for each count.

“With this plea, the justice department is ensuring that Richard Kantwill faces accountability for targeting an election official and other public figures with over 100 heinous threats,” U.S. Attorney General Merrick B. Garland said in a news release.

“In the three years since I created the department’s Election Threats Task Force, we have worked to aggressively combat the dangerous increase in violent threats against the public servants who administer our elections. Today’s action is yet another warning: the justice department will not stand for threats of violence that endanger people’s safety and endanger our democracy.”

A federal district court judge is set to sentence Kantwill at a later date.