Andrea Ruiano, a 49-year old Florida woman, faces up to a decade in prison for allegedly sending death threats and offensive messages to Palestinian families.
According to the U.S. Department of Justice, Rubiano targeted 12 Palestinian American families with threatening messages, such as "Palestinians in Tampa must die," and "In the mosque we are going to behead them and drag them alive like rats." Her messages included images of an Israeli flag, emojis representing Palestinian flags, skulls, Stars of David, cannonballs, and rats.
Rubiano initially denied sending the messages when interviewed by an FBI agent but later admitted to lying and acknowledged she had sent the threats in October 2023. She has since pleaded guilty to transmitting threats in interstate commerce and lying to federal agents.
As part of her plea agreement, Rubiano admitted to targeting her victims based on their perceived race, religion, national origin, or ethnicity. Her sentencing date has yet to be set.
The case is being handled by the FBI's Joint Terrorism Task Force and prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Lindsey Schmidt.
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