Retired Firefighter Charged with Making "Thousands of Messages" of Threats Against City Officials

Retired Firefighter Charged with Making "Thousands of Messages" of Threats Against City Officials

A former Warwick firefighter made an initial appearance in federal court in Providence on Wednesday, charged by way of a federal criminal complaint with threats to injure the person of another transmitted in interstate or foreign commerce, announced United States Attorney Zachary Cunha.

About Case

It is alleged in court documents that Barry J. LaFleur, 57, of Cranston, a retired Warwick Fire Department Lieutenant with 23 years of service, made threats of violence (e.g. to kill, shoot, commit work-place slaughters; terror incidents, and mass killings), directed mainly towards public officials in the City of Warwick, in tens-of-thousands of messages he authored and transmitted primarily via emails and online postings. 

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Charging documents allege that LaFleur transmitted the threats both while employed and after his retirement from the Warwick Fire Department.

LaFleur, arrested without incident, appeared before U.S. District Court Magistrate Judge Lincoln D. Almond and was released on unsecured bond to home detention with electronic GPS monitoring.
The matter was investigated by the FBI’s Joint Terrorism Task Force  (JTTF) at the FBI Providence Resident Agency, with the assistance of the Rhode Island State Police and the Warwick and Cranston Police Departments.

A federal criminal complaint is merely an accusation. A defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty. The case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Terrence P. Donnelly.