RICHMOND | Federal authorities say a Richmond man sent a bloody letter to a congressman, threatening to cut off the head of a U.S. official in Vietnam and vowing to orchestrate a massacre worse than last year’s shootings at Virginia Tech.
Phuong Nguyen Le has been charged with threatening a U.S. official, authorities said, adding that he was apparently angry about the rejection of a visa application for his wife, who is in Vietnam.
Mr. Le, who worked for the Richmond Redevelopment and Housing Authority, was arrested Wednesday. U.S. Magistrate M. Hannah Lauck on Friday found probable cause to present the case to a grand jury and ordered Mr. Le to be held in federal custody. If convicted, he faces up to 10 years in prison, a $250,000 fine and three years of supervised probation, according to the U.S. attorney’s office.
Federal public defender Amy Austin, who was appointed to represent Mr. Le, did not immediately return a phone message seeking comment.
An affidavit filed by FBI agent Douglas J. Brozick says the bloodstained letter was sent to the Richmond office of U.S. Rep. Robert C. Scott, Virginia Democrat. The letter threatened U.S. Consular Chief Charles Bennett, in Ho Chi Minh City, with decapitation. Mr. Scott had given Mr. Le a copy of the visa rejection letter written by Mr. Bennett.
According to the affidavit, Mr. Le’s letter threatened, “Something more beautiful than VA Tech years ago” and called Tech gunman Seung-Hui Cho a “young hero.” Cho killed 32 people before committing suicide, leaving his motive a mystery.
The affidavit says an intern in Mr. Scott’s office opened the letter, noticed the blood and left it on a desk. Another employee, wearing rubber gloves, picked up the letter and read it aloud. The letter included Mr. Le’s name and return address.
Mr. Brozick wrote that he interviewed Mr. Le, who admitted writing and sending the letter to Mr. Scott’s office. He reported that Mr. Le said he bit his left thumb and signed the letter in blood.
The agent also asked Mr. Le to explain the part of the letter about Virginia Tech.
“Le stated that the Virginia Tech shooter didn’t tell anybody, but Le was telling people now. Le stated that he was capable of being like the young hero at Virginia Tech,” Mr. Brozick wrote.
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