Chicago-area man gets 3 years for threat at Biden inaugural

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CHICAGO (AP) — A suburban Chicago man was sentenced to more than three years in prison Tuesday for threatening members of Congress and to commit violence at the 2021 presidential inauguration.

U.S. District Judge Ronald A. Guzman sentenced Louis Capriotti, 47, of Chicago Heights to 37 months in prison. Capriotti pleaded guilty last fall to transmitting a threat in interstate commerce. He has been in federal custody since his Jan. 12, 2021, arrest, prosecutors said.

Capriotti in November and December 2020 left threatening messages on the voicemail systems of members of Congress during which he falsely stated that he was an active U.S. Marine and referred to certain members of Congress as “terrorists.”

The threatening messages allegedly go back much further than 2020, and the FBI had made a previous visit to Capriotti's home. During that visit, Capriotti told agents he was, "just f---ing with them [Members of Congress]...and that he 'didn't mean any ill will."

Still, even after that visit by the FBI in October 2020, the threatening messages persisted, ultimately culminating in the threat on President-Elect Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris at the 2021 inauguration.

You can view the full criminal complaint below.

Capriotti Complaint Filed by Todd Feurer

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