Elkton Man Pleads Guilty to Threatening Phone Call

Baltimore, Maryland – In a shocking case of racial intimidation, Phillip Cline, Jr., 39, from Elkton, has pleaded guilty to making threatening interstate communications. During a recorded phone conversation with an auto loan business employee, Cline resorted to using racial slurs and threatened physical harm.

United States Attorney Robert K. Hur; Assistant Attorney General Eric S. Dreiband of the Civil Rights Division; and Special Agent in Charge Jennifer C. Boone of the FBI Baltimore Field Office announced the guilty plea.

The incident, which transpired on February 1, 2019, involved an auto loan employee calling Cline about a suspected delinquent auto loan. According to the plea agreement, an agitated Cline was unwilling to verify his identity and resorted to racial epithets during the call. He ominously threatened to have his ‘white power friends’ “hang your ass,” indicating clear intent to cause physical harm.

Cline now faces a maximum of five years in prison for his crime. Sentencing is scheduled before U.S. District Judge Ellen L. Hollander on October 5, 2020.

United States Attorney Hur and Assistant Attorney General Dreiband praised the FBI’s investigative efforts, while expressing gratitude to Assistant U.S. Attorney Michael Cunningham and Trial Attorney Anita Channapati for their prosecution of the case.

Cline’s actions have sparked a conversation about racial violence in Maryland, raising concerns over hate crimes and threats to public safety.