(Update: Guerrero’s plea hearing has been rescheduled for June 1. The story below has been updated to reflect that.)
A Massachusetts man charged with threatening the life of Rep. Randy Fine, a former state representative for Brevard County, in social media posts is now facing federal charges.
Edwin Guerrero’s plea hearing scheduled at the Viera Justice Center for Tuesday, April 21 has been continued as Guerrero is in federal custody in another county on potentially overlapping charges, according to the State Attorney’s Office. The new hearing date is June 1.
The feds in October charged Guerrero with two counts using interstate communication to issue a threat.
Because of the new federal charges, Guerrero’s team is working to reduce the number of local charges against him, claiming that the “federal prosecution for the same electronic threats amounts to double jeopardy,” according to 18th District spokesman Matt Reed. He added that the State Attorney has not conceded that and a decision will have to be made at a later date.
Guerrero, 25, faces eight felony charges and up to 175 years in prison for using the social media platform X (formerly Twitter) to threaten the life of Fine with anti-Semitic language. He was arrested in August of 2024.
Fine now represents Florida’s 6th District in the U.S. House of Representatives,
According to Florida Department of Law Enforcement (FDLE) documents, Guerrero was detained by the U.S. Department of Homeland Security at Logan International Airport after he returned from a trip to Spain. FDLE agents were dispatched and brought him to Brevard. Agents said Guerrero admitted to making the threats, saying he had gone too far and only wanted to anger Fine.
A previous plea deal offered to Guerrero prompted outrage from Randy Fine who pointed out that the defendant would have served just 2-1/2 years in exchange for a guilty plea.
The State Attorney’s Office does not have a plea agreement with the defendant, according to the Reed.
Tyler Vazquez is the Growth and Development Reporter at FLORIDA TODAY. Contact Vazquez at 321-480-0854 or tvazquez@floridatoday.com. Twitter: @tyler_vazquez.
This article originally appeared on Florida Today: Man accused of threatening Rep. Randy Fine faces new federal charges
Reporting by Tyler Vazquez, Florida Today / Florida Today
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