A Miami resident has pleaded guilty to making online threats against a U.S. Senator, according to an announcement from the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Florida.
Court documents state that on June 9, Walter George Bechtel III, 39, posted a threatening message on X (formerly Twitter) directed at a U.S. Senator. The post included the statement: “You used to hate millionaires when you first started and then began to hate billionaires once you yourself became a millionaire through shady backroom deals. I will kill you personally old man. (Smiling Halo Emoji)”
Law enforcement confronted Bechtel about the post, and he admitted to sending it as well as reaffirming his intent to harm the Senator.
Bechtel entered a guilty plea on October 2 to one count of interstate transmission of threatening communications. He is scheduled for sentencing on December 18 and could face up to five years in prison. The final sentence will be determined by a federal district court judge who will consider the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines along with other legal factors.
U.S. Attorney Jason A. Reding Quiñones for the Southern District of Florida and Chief Michael G. Sullivan of the U.S. Capitol Police announced the plea.
The case is being investigated by the Threat Assessment Section of the U.S. Capitol Police, while Assistant U.S. Attorney Marc Anton is handling prosecution duties.
Additional information about this case can be found at www.justice.gov/usao-sdfl and related court documents are available at www.flsd.uscourts.gov or http://pacer.flsd.uscourts.gov under case number 25-cr-20327.
