A man from New York has been sentenced to over a year in prison for making numerous harassing phone calls to congressional representatives, including threats to a staff member, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office.

Ade Salim Lilly, aged 35 and from Queens, received a prison term of 13 months, followed by three years of supervised release, as per the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Columbia. Prosecutors accused him of engaging in a “persistent campaign of harassing communications” directed at congressional personnel.

Lilly pleaded guilty in May to two federal offenses: interstate communication with threats of kidnapping or injury, and repeatedly making threatening phone calls.

From February 2022 until his arrest in November 2023, Lilly is reported to have made over 12,000 phone calls to approximately 54 congressional offices throughout the United States, according to court filings. Of these calls, more than 6,526 were directed to offices in Washington, D.C.

This incident follows a worrying trend of threats against public officials, with two individuals from Eastern Europe recently indicted for allegedly “swatting” 40 private individuals and 61 public figures, including members of Congress and high-level government officials.

Capitol Police reported that threats against lawmakers surged from 5,206 in 2018 to 8,008 last year. Additionally, the Department of Justice established a task force in June 2021 to counter threats and violence aimed at election officials, which spiked after false claims made by former President Donald Trump regarding the 2020 election.

“In this election year, negative political opinions frequently cross the line of protected speech and translate into actual threats of violence,” prosecutors mentioned in a sentencing memorandum. “The increasing number of threats against elected officials poses a serious risk that violent expressions may become commonplace.”

Ade Salim Lilly harassed and threatened numerous congressional offices

Prosecutors indicated that Lilly made these calls while located in both Maryland and Puerto Rico. He relocated from Maryland to Puerto Rico during his extensive harassment campaign.

Most of these calls were answered by congressional interns or staff members, as described in court documents. Prosecutors noted that during some interactions, Lilly would exhibit anger and use profane and abusive language.

Congressional staff members frequently urged Lilly to cease his calls, and the Capitol Police informed him multiple times that his calls were “unwanted and illegal due to their harassing nature,” prosecutors stated.

Lilly was also reported to have made at least one threatening call in October 2022, during which he threatened to kill a staff member at a congressional office in Washington, D.C. In that conversation, he declared, “I will kill you, I am going to run you over, I will kill you with a bomb or grenade,” as recorded in court documents.

Along with the threatening calls, prosecutors claimed that in at least seven separate instances, Lilly called congressional offices that had stopped responding due to being aware of his harassment. One such office received over 500 calls from him in just two days in February 2023, according to court evidence.

His harassment efforts persisted until he was arrested by Capitol Police agents in Puerto Rico in November 2023.

“Threatening someone’s safety or life constitutes a criminal act, not something protected by free speech,” stated U.S. Attorney Matthew Graves following Lilly’s guilty plea in May. “This case ought to clearly convey that while individuals have the right to express their opinions, threatening harm to others is unacceptable, and those who engage in such behavior will face consequences.”

Contributing: Bart Jansen, YSL News