BOSTON – Matthew Haviland, a 30-year-old from North Kingstown, Rhode Island, was arrested and charged with cyberstalking and transmitting a threat in interstate commerce after he unleashed a barrage of violent emails targeting a Massachusetts professor.
Haviland’s alleged spree began on March 10, 2019, when he sent the college professor around 28 e-mails brimming with threats such as ‘I will rip every limb from your body and eat it, piece by piece’ and ‘I will bite through your eyeballs while you’re still alive, and I will laugh while you scream.’ The recipient of these chilling messages, known as Victim 1 in the complaint, is a proponent of abortion rights. Several emails explicitly referenced the topic.
“This office will take a hard line on threats of violence motivated by politicized issues,” said United States Attorney Andrew E. Lelling. “Americans are responsible for what they say, and if they put others in fear for their lives, we will prosecute.”
Haviland is also accused of leaving approximately 114 voice messages at a women’s medical center overnight from April 4, 2019, and sending text messages to an acquaintance that included threats related to abortion. In an online post, he wrote, “You guys are so evil and so brainwashed, I would kill every one of you with my bare hands—or AT LEAST kill every abortion doctor.”
In addition to the emails sent to the professor, Haviland is alleged to have sent around 12 e-mails to a professional school at the university where Victim 1 teaches. These messages covered topics such as race, gender, and physical disability, with threats including “You should be Murdered in cold blood.”
The charges of cyberstalking and transmitting a threat in interstate commerce carry potential sentences of up to five years in prison, three years of supervised release, and fines reaching $250,000. Sentences are determined by a federal district court judge.
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Key Facts
- State: Massachusetts
- Agency: DOJ USAO
- Category: Drug Trafficking|Fraud & Financial Crimes|Violent Crime|Sex Crimes|Cybercrime|Public Corruption|Weapons|Human Trafficking|White Collar Crime|Organized Crime
- Source: Official Source ↗
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