NEW YORK (AP) – Authorities say a man threatened to rape the New York City Council speaker, kill her family and kill all the city’s gay police officers.
Twenty-six-year-old Daniel Silvera was arraigned last week in Manhattan criminal court on charges including aggravated harassment as a hate crime.
The Daily News reports that the threats were made in emails sent July 28 to City Council Speaker Melissa Mark-Viverito and two police officers who serve in LGBT outreach positions. The threats indicated that the sender knew where Mark-Viverito lived.
Silvera is represented by The Legal Aid Society, which declined to comment Aug. 16.
A spokeswoman for Mark-Viverito thanked prosecutors and said the “violent, dangerous threats” are “deeply disturbing.”
