NORFOLK, Va. (WAVY) — Virginia State Sen. Angelia Williams Graves (D-21) received a threatening email on Sunday morning.
The message is now in the hands of Norfolk and Capitol police.
It is one of the disturbing trends in recent days. News outlets across the country reported after Election Day that people were receiving racist text messages, with one of those going to a teen in Virginia Beach.
The email Williams Graves received stated that she and her family were being tracked following an assassination request. It warns her not to tell the police or go outside after 8:15 p.m. It concludes by telling her to send $5,000 through Bitcoin. The message directs her to meet with them to learn more about the assassination request. It also attaches pictures of guns and ammo.
10 On Your Side received the entire message, which was also shared on the Senator’s social media accounts.
Sun, Nov 10, 2024 Militia <themilitia.net1@gmail.com>
Hello A Graves,
Now listen carefully, all your movement and conversation with families has been monitored with force brute hacking system and got them recorded[.] I will come along with a copy of the videotape that contains the assassination request which I believe would be enough for you to take any legal action before another hitman will be employed for the job. Do not meet the cops or it will extend to your families. Make sure to stay indoors as much as possible from 8:15pm from now on. Do not set any recording devices when we meet. I will advises you to keep this to yourself alone,not a friend or a family members.
SEND $5,000 IN BTC TO THIS BTC ADDRESS
1NqyFGyrz9xAgpisqN9NBjRDFyB4yPpRp8
Go to any bitcoin machine nearby and make the payment[.]
I wasn’t sent to negotiate[.]
Send me your preferred location to get the classified information about the job once payment sent[.]
You’ve been given a limited time to safe your life and your immediate, the clock is ticking now[.]
So get back to me asap, I must leave the country once you got hold of the proofs[.]
Email threat sent to State Sen. Angela Graves
While Williams Graves was driving to church, she received a call from her chief of staff about a threat.
“To call me on a Sunday morning is very out of the ordinary,” Williams Graves said. “I knew something was up and then … she told me.”
When she arrived at church, she instructed her staff to forward the email to Norfolk Police. She then called Norfolk Police Chief Mark Talbot before heading into her place of worship.
“I am not going to let this ruin my worship,” she said. … “I didn’t read the email until I got out of church. But once I did read it, it was very unnerving. It angered me. After a few minutes, it just kind of angered me. That somebody would do this and think that they could get away with this, then to think that I would be compliant is another thing, we’re not going to be quiet about it. We’re not going to be complicit.”
Williams Graves also reported the threat to the Capitol Police.
“It just struck a chord with me because of the racist text messages that folks that started receiving since the election,” Williams Graves said.
She said the investigating agencies believe the message was a hoax traced to a fake email address and IP address.
“The email itself, it has been linked back to someone in Nigeria,” Williams Graves said. “The strong belief is that it is a hoax. But for me, again, it’s about taking anything that resembles a threat to be to take that seriously, because you just never know.”
She added: “I’m in a position where I can’t take any type of threat lightly,” as the General Assembly session is scheduled to start in about 58 days.
“We’re working really hard to do good work for the citizens of the 21st senatorial district,” she said. “That’s where my focus is. These kinds of things are distractions. Our focus is to do good work on behalf of the citizens. That’s where we’re going to do that. We’re going to do it smart. We’re going to do it with wisdom. We’re going to do it with integrity and love.”
WAVY-TV 10 Investigations the Norfolk FBI office.
Per FBI policy, I’m unable to confirm or deny any potential FBI investigation.
“My hope is that it will get better,” she said. “My hope is that people will be able to get along and accept other people for their differences of opinion without being ugly and without being threatening. But in the event that that doesn’t happen, we take every threat of violence of any kind seriously. I’m reporting it all to the authorities and letting them handle it. I don’t know what is going to come. But I am hopeful that at some point we do turn the page in a more kinder, gentler, tolerant society.
Va. governor announces launch of state veterans resource
10 On Your Side asked Gov. Glenn Youngkin about the threat during the Veterans Day luncheon in Virginia Beach.
The governor was unaware of the threat made toward Williams Graves but vowed to look into it.
“Oh gosh, I don’t know about that yet, but now that you’ve told me, I’m going to go find out immediately because, of course, there’s no room for that anywhere in Virginia,” Youngkin said. “We’ll go look at that immediately.”
10 On Your Side also contacted Norfolk police and the office of the attorney general, but did not get an immediate response on the Veterans Day holiday.