Roswell man sentenced for online threats to ex-FBI director

ATLANTA - A Roswell man has been sentenced to 17 months in federal prison for threatening former FBI Director Christopher Wray, federal prosecutors announced Thursday.

What we know:

John Woodbury, 35, pleaded guilty in April to transmitting threats to injure Wray after posting a violent message on the website 4chan.org on June 7, 2023. In the post, Woodbury shared Wray’s purported home address and called for violence against him and his family.

"Let’s show them what a [expletive] ‘Nazi’ … looks like," Woodbury wrote in the message. "It’s time to burn these mother [expletives] down and hang them from trees. Hit them where it [expletive] hurts. Hit Chris at his home. Make his family fear stepping one foot outside their god damn door."

What they're saying:

U.S. Attorney Theodore S. Hertzberg condemned the threats, saying his office has "zero tolerance for threats against law enforcement officers."

"Threatening to harm public servants who enforce our criminal laws weakens the foundation of our society and will be punished accordingly," Hertzberg said.

Paul Brown, special agent in charge of the FBI’s Atlanta office, said the sentence reflects the agency’s commitment to protecting public officials.

"The functioning of our democracy requires that our country’s public servants be able to do their jobs without fearing for their lives," Brown said.

U.S. District Judge Sarah E. Geraghty handed down the sentence, which includes three years of supervised release following Woodbury’s prison term. The case was investigated by the FBI.