A federal jury in Tampa has convicted 63-year-old Lawrence Brunn of cyberharassment after what prosecutors described as an online and mailed campaign urging the beheading of Tampa General Hospital's chief executive. Brunn now faces up to five years in federal prison. A sentencing date has not yet been set, and testimony at trial indicated the harassment stretched over several years and ultimately led the CEO to bring in private security.
Federal trial and verdict
According to WFTV, prosecutors with the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Middle District of Florida told jurors that Brunn ran a steady stream of posts, videos and website content that called for the CEO's execution and repeatedly invoked a guillotine. Trial testimony and exhibits, as described by the station, showed that the campaign dated back to 2022 and grew more intense over the last two years.
Threats, mailings and security
In a press release from the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Middle District of Florida, prosecutors said Brunn did not limit himself to the internet. They said he mailed harassing material to the CEO's private home, to neighbors and to members of Tampa General's board of directors, and that an April 9, 2025 post declared the CEO "should have his head chopped off." The release notes that the FBI investigated the case. As reported by WUSF, the threats were serious enough that the CEO hired a security detail to watch his home and follow his commute.
Old grudge at Jupiter Medical Center
Reporting in the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette and related court records trace the conflict back more than a decade. Brunn previously worked at Jupiter Medical Center and was fired in 2014 after he accused the hospital's chief financial officer of embezzlement. That clash led to a defamation lawsuit that wrapped up in 2020. Prosecutors say that after the executive later moved to Tampa and became CEO of Tampa General, Brunn redirected his anger and launched the harassment campaign at the center of the federal case.
Legal stakes and next steps
According to a press release from the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Middle District of Florida, the FBI handled the investigation, and Assistant U.S. Attorney Candace Garcia Rich is prosecuting the case. WFTV reported the guilty verdict and noted that the court has not yet set a sentencing date.
Prosecutors say the conviction highlights how years of targeted online harassment can spill into the real world and the courts. Upcoming filings will lay out the timeline for the next hearings and, ultimately, the sentencing in federal court in Tampa.
