A New Jersey man, who allegedly began stalking President Donald Trump long before he entered politics, was convicted by a federal jury today of threatening to assault and murder federal law enforcement officers.
Frank Monte, 51, of New Jersey, was convicted following a one-week trial before U.S. District Judge John Michael Vazquez in Newark federal court of three counts of threatening a federal law enforcement officer, and of two counts of transmitting threats in interstate commerce.
Monte, a longtime Trump-stalker, was arrested in 2014 for tearing down a photo of his face posted inside Trump Tower to warn security personnel he wasn’t allowed in the building.
The ardent Republican was ultimately released from custody in May 2017 after his lawyer, John Iannuzzi, argued he spent more time behind bars than he would face at sentencing if convicted in the stalking case, in which Monte was charged with a slew of crimes, including filing paperwork to form a company that falsely listed Trump as a board member and listing Trump Towers as his home address on his driver’s license.
According to U.S. Attorney Philip R. Sellinger, documents filed in the case and the evidence at trial, Monte repeatedly called the emergency line of the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) Police at the VA Lyons hospital campus on July 21, 2019.
During one of those calls, Monte threatened to “shoot up” a VA Police officer.
On Oct. 15, 2019, Monte called the office of a U.S. Congressman and spoke with a staff member. During that call, Monte threatened that if he ever saw a particular special agent of the U.S. Secret Service in New Jersey, Monte would assault him.
On Oct. 18, 2019, Monte called a special agent of the U.S. Capitol Police. During that call, Monte once again threatened to assault the same special agent of the U.S. Secret Service.
The count of threatening to murder a federal law enforcement officer based on the July 2019 threat carries a maximum penalty of 10 years in prison.
The two counts of threatening to assault a federal law enforcement officer based on the October 2019 threats each carries a maximum penalty of six years in prison.
The two counts of transmitting a threat in interstate commerce based on the October 2019 threats each carry a maximum penalty of five years in prison.
Each count also carries a maximum fine of $250,000.
Sentencing is scheduled for July 12, 2022.
He was arrested in August 2017, for allegedly threatening a Florida judge.
Monte was first arrested on a petit larceny charge for stealing his own photo from behind the security desk at Trump Tower on Fifth Ave. on Feb. 10, 2014.
Trump’s security was on the lookout for Monte because he placed over 400 calls to the real estate mogul’s office and made repeated visits to Trump Tower beginning in July 2012.
Manhattan Supreme Court Justice Ronald Zweibel had diehard Republican Monte removed from the courtroom and ordered a psychiatric fitness exam, when his antics proved disruptive and he tried to relieve his lawyer and represent himself.
The ex-con had previously been released from a four-year stint in prison in 2012 for threatening to kill two people with a loaded gun in Miami.
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