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Aspiring Proud Boy Plotted Armed Attack On "Target Rich" NYC, Feds Say
By
Jake Offenhartz
Published Jan 13, 2021
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KEVIN DIETSCH/UPI/Shutterstock
By
Jake Offenhartz
Published Jan 13, 2021
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As a mob of pro-Trump insurrectionists raided the U.S. Capitol last Wednesday, an aspiring Proud Boy was allegedly mobilizing his own violent attack from a Queens apartment.
"Let's go...I will be reaching out to patriots in my area so we can come up with a game plan," Eduard Florea, who used the handle "LoneWolfWar," wrote on the extremist-friendly website Parler, according to a federal complaint released Wednesday. "Here in New York we are target rich."
The account continued posting throughout the siege, prosecutors said: “The time for peace and civility is over...3 cars of armed patriots heading into DC from NY. Guns cleaned loaded...we are just waiting for the word."
On Tuesday evening, FBI agents raided Florea's home and arrested him for allegedly stockpiling ammunition inside his Middle Village basement apartment. They recovered 1,000 rounds of rifle ammo, 2 dozen shotgun rounds, 75 combat knives, 2 hatchets, and 2 swords, according to a criminal complaint.
Florea, a 40-year-old software engineer who was previously convicted of felony weapons possession, did not end up traveling to Washington D.C. last week. He was charged with illegal possession of ammunition, which could carry up to 10 years in prison.
At Florea's arraignment on Wednesday, prosecutors said that he'd told the FBI that he supported and often socialized with the Proud Boys, the far-right gang whose members played a leading role in the capitol attack. After applying to be a member, he allegedly joined them last month a trip to Washington D.C. last month, where the group's leader was arrested for reportedly destroying a Black Lives Matter sign at a historic Black church. Members of the far-right gang also played a leading role in the capitol attack.
On the evening before the Capitol attack, Florea also posted a threat against newly-elected Georgia Senator Raphael Warnock, writing that "dead men can't pass shit laws."
At an arraignment on Wednesday, Francisco J. Navarro, an assistant U.S. Attorney, said that Florea had a "demonstrated history of combining violent rhetoric with violent action."
"The government believes the defendant is particularly dangerous in the current political environment which has already resulted in violence and death," he added.
Florea's arrest marked the third raid of a New York resident suspected to be linked to last week's mob attack on the U.S. Capitol. Brooklyn resident Aaron Mostofsky and Will Pepe, a Metro-North worker, were also arrested on Tuesday.
While Mostofsky and Pepe actually entered the capitol, Florea remained in New York during the mob attack, his attorney, Mia Eisner-Grynberg, noted.
"The contrast with how the government is handling what actually happened in Washington D.C. and what they’re doing in this case I think is concerning," she said, adding that her client "rejects the entrance of any individual into the Capitol."
But Judge Sanket Bulsara said that Florea's actions presented a different level of danger, and reflected a "pre-mediated plan to exact violence against people in New York and people in Washington." He denied the attorney's request for bail, calling him a danger and a flight risk.
"Why is Mr. Florea a danger?" the judge said. "I think it’s evident in the statements he posted."
Tagged
capitol riots
proud boys
Jake Offenhartz
Jake Offenhartz is a former Gothamist reporter.
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Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
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