Brooklyn Man Pleads Guilty to Threatening to Murder U.S. Senator

Michael Brogan, 51, of Brooklyn, New York, pleaded guilty today to threatening to assault and murder a sitting United States Senator, striking at the heart of democratic discourse with violent intimidation. The admission came during a terse federal court hearing before U.S. Magistrate Judge Robert M. Levy in Brooklyn, where Brogan offered no defense and showed no emotion as the charges were read aloud.

The threat, delivered by phone on December 4, 2018, targeted the Senator’s Washington, D.C. office with a venomous voice message laced with explicit violence. Brogan railed against the Senator’s criticism of President Trump and opposition to restrictions on reproductive rights, snarling, “you watch your [expletive] cause . . . I’m going to put a bullet in ya.” He repeated the threat with chilling specificity: “If I see you on the streets, I’m gonna [expletive] light you up with [expletive] bullets.”

According to prosecutors, the threats were not only personal but politically calculated—to silence a public official from exercising their constitutional duty. Richard P. Donoghue, U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of New York, made it clear: “Brogan threatened to assault and murder a sitting United States Senator to silence the Senator and interfere with the performance of the Senator’s official duties.”

Donoghue emphasized the Department of Justice’s unwavering stance: “We stand ready to vigorously prosecute those who seek to subvert our constitutional system and intimidate elected officials through threats of violence.” The message is clear—attacks on democracy, even verbal ones, will be met with maximum legal force.

Matthew R. Verderosa, Chief of the United States Capitol Police, praised the swift investigative response that led to Brogan’s identification and arrest. “I greatly appreciate the hard work of our investigators for addressing these threats so quickly, and that of the U.S. Attorney’s staff for prosecuting this case,” Verderosa stated, underscoring the growing number of threats against federal officials in recent years.

Brogan, charged under E.D.N.Y. Docket No. 19-CR-207 (NGG), now faces up to 10 years in federal prison at sentencing. Assistant U.S. Attorney Phil Selden is prosecuting the case. In a climate where political rage increasingly turns lethal, Brogan’s words didn’t just cross a line—they ignited a federal firestorm.

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