A man from Massachusetts has entered a guilty plea after threatening and harassing an interracial couple through Facebook and trying to stop them from reaching the cops, federal authorities said.
46-year-old Stephen M. DeBerardinis of Boston and Dedham admitted to sending injurious threats across states, trying to by intimidation, threats, and corrupt persuasion tamper with a witness and victim, and harassment—the U.S. District Court set his sentencing for June 10. According to the U.S. Attorney's Office, DeBerardinis was originally indicted in September 2021.
Acting U.S. Attorney Joshua S. Levy minced no words when he declared, "This case demonstrates that you cannot cowardly hide behind a keyboard and spread bigotry, intimidation and fear." He added, "The spike we have all witnessed in hate-motivated threats of violence will not be tolerated, and our office remains steadfast in our commitment to aggressively pursue threats and acts of hate that are motivated by racism or bigotry," as stated by the Justice Department's announcement.
Back in December 2020, a couple posted their engagement and pictures on Facebook. Unbeknownst to them, DeBerardinis, who wasn't a direct acquaintance but a friend to some of their friends on Facebook, sent them a stream of messages loaded with hateful racial comments and threats. One message read, "EWWWWWWWW YOUR A N***** F***** F****** DIRTY A** WHITE TRASH," and he followed with similar vile messages. When the couple warned they'd be contacting the police, DeBerardinis responded by to threaten even further, sending an image of brass knuckles and messages saying, "SNITCHES GET STITCHES." He also said, "Read up more on me lol… you will see how me and my crew burn n*****s alive," and promised violence against them, according to the same Justice Department's release.
Should the court apply the maximum penalties, DeBerardinis could face significant time behind bars—up to five years for the interstate threat charge alone, plus potentially 20 more for witness tampering, not to mention fines and restitution. The involvement of Federal Bureau of Investigation, Boston Division, and Boston Police Department was pivotal, as lauded by FBI's Special Agent in Charge Jodi Cohen, who took a stand against cyber-threats: "You can't just threaten people online with racially motivated, violent physical harm and not face repercussions," illustrating the severity of DeBerardinis' crimes.
