Lawrence Mulqueen gets 15 months after making threats against public officials

Lawrence MulqueenLolud – by Erik Shilling

A Nanuet man said last year that he was “anxious to start killing various public officials” was sentenced Wednesday to 15 months in federal prison.

Lawrence Mulqueen has already served around 8 months of the sentence, having been incarcerated since his arrest in February, when prosecutors said that he wrote on his Facebook page that he wanted “all followers of President Barack Obama dead,” calling them “traitor scum” and declaring “death to them all.”  

Mulqueen also said that he wanted to kill Gov. Andrew Cuomo, New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg, Sen. Charles Schumer, Rep. Nita Lowey, Rep. Nancy Pelosi, Sen. Harry Reid and members of the Congressional Black Caucus, among others.

On Wednesday, in U.S. District Court in White Plains, Judge Kenneth Karas said that Mulqueen had “crossed a line that cannot be crossed.”

“This wasn’t someone getting drunk at a ballgame and yelling, ‘Kill the ump,’ ” Karas said, before acknowledging that Mulqueen’s long running battle with alcohol was a factor.

Mulqueen faced up to 15 years in prison after pleading guilty in May to two charges, threatening public officials and transmitting threatening communications.

But Karas opted for a lighter sentence in line with federal sentencing guidelines, and after hearing an appeal from Mulqueen’s lawyer, Jason Ser, who said that when Mulqueen isn’t drunk he’s a “totally different person.”

“His father once told him that the devil was waiting for him in a bottle,” Ser said, adding, “there’s hope for him.”

Dressed in orange prison garb, Mulqueen entered the courtroom, scanned the gallery, said, “Oh, it’s The Journal News,” and sat down, later telling Karas that the posts were “not intended for public assumption.”

“After sobering up, I would have deleted [them] entirely and posted an apology,” Mulqueen said. “I violated my own concepts of morality as I am a child of God.”

Mulqueen may yet be sentenced to more prison time; state charges of illegal weapons possession remain pending in Rockland County. A lawyer for him on that case could not be immediately reached for comment Wednesday.

At the time of his arrest, Clarkstown police said they found an illegal knuckle knife at Mulqueen’s home. They also seized two rifles, two rifle bayonets, a rifle scope, bulletproof body armor, and about 100 rounds of ammunition, including 27 rounds of .50-caliber armor-piercing, tank buster bullets.

Mulqueen faces a minimum of two to four years on the illegal-weapon charge.

Twitter: @erikshilling

http://www.lohud.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/201310161553/NEWS02/310160040&nclick_check=1

3 thoughts on “Lawrence Mulqueen gets 15 months after making threats against public officials

  1. making threats are a waste of time. when it is necessary an individual should react, not make threats. the wise serpent will not warn an intruder. it will strike.

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