Chicago Heights man gets 37 months in prison for threatening violence at President Biden's inauguration

CHICAGO (CBS) -- A Chicago Heights man who pleaded guilty to threatening violence at President Joe Biden's inauguration has been sentenced to more than three years in prison.

U.S. District Judge Ronald Guzman sentenced Louis Capriotti to 37 months in prison on Tuesday, after he pleaded guilty in October to transmitting a threat in interstate commerce. Capriotti has been in federal custody since Jan. 12, 2021, and will receive credit for the time he's already served behind bars.

According to the charges, Capriotti falsely claimed to be an active-duty Marine when he left a threatening voicemail message for a U.S. House member from New Jersey – identified in court documents only as "Member D" – on Dec. 29, 2020.

"You think that Joe Biden is going to put his hand on the Bible and walk into that f***ing White House on January 20th, you're sadly f***ing mistaken," Capriotti is heard saying in the voicemail. "We will surround the motherf***ing White House and we will kill any motherf***ing Democrat that steps on the motherf***ing lawn."

Capriotti left a similar voicemail threatening Vice President Kamala Harris, authorities said.

The charges say Capriotti called several other members of Congress between October 2019 and January 2020, leaving "disturbing, anonymous messages on the voicemail systems."

Court documents state the messages "in almost every instance, included profanity, along with derogatory remarks concerning the race, religion, political affiliation, or physical appearance of certain Members and others."

Capriotti often screamed during the messages and "spoke of 'rais[ing] mother f***ing hell' and referred to certain Members [of Congress] as 'terrorists' or 'gun grabbing,'" according to the charges.

FBI agents interviewed Capriotti in Orland Park in February 2020 about those messages, and he confirmed he had been leaving messages for members of Congress on several occasions between 2017 and 2020. He "also acknowledged that the voicemail messages he left in 2020 and years beforehand could be interpreted as hateful and threatening," according to the charges.

"During this same interview, Capriotti later explained to the agents that he was 'just f***ing with them [the Members of Congress] ... and that he 'didn't mean any ill will,'" the charges state. He also admitted he'd never served in the military.

During the interview, FBI agents told Capriotti he needed to stop making threatening calls, and warned him he might face charges if he continued.

Even so, the charges state Capriotti continued making threatening calls to members of Congress for months.

In a voicemail message on Nov. 18, 2020, Capriotti claimed "he had 'killed' several 'terrorists' in prior wars and that he 'will continue to kill them because that's what I am trained to do.'" He also claimed "'in the next couple weeks, some big news is about to go down' and that certain individuals 'are going to be astonished of what's going to be revealed,'" the charges state.

In a separate message to a different member of Congress on the same day, the charges say Capriotti claimed the lawmaker "was mistaken if they believed that 'Biden' and 'Kamala Harris' were 'going to walk into the White House" on inauguration day on Jan. 20.

In a message for yet another member of Congress on Dec. 4, 2020, Capriotti again falsely claimed to be an active-duty Marine, and said the lawmaker "was mistaken if they believed that 'Joe Biden' and 'Kamala Harris' were 'going to walk into that f***ing White House'" on inauguration day. He also called the lawmaker a "terrorist" and ended the message by saying the lawmaker could "choke in hell."

Finally, on Dec. 29, 2020, Capriotti called a fourth member of Congress, leaving a message saying "that if certain individuals 'think that Joe Biden is going to put his hand on the Bible and walk into that f***ing White House on January 20th, they're sadly f***ing mistaken."

According to the charges, Capriotti also threatened an unidentified former governor of New Jersey in the same call. Court documents say Capriotti "identified the first and last name of a former governor (Individual A) from Member D's state and stated that he would 'like to put one right in [Individual A's] f***ing dome.'"

"Our office takes the security of our public servants very seriously," U.S. Attorney John Lausch said in a statement on the charges against Capriotti. "Individuals who cross the line of free speech by making unlawful threats will be held accountable."

Capriotti is no stranger to Cook County courts. His criminal record goes back to 2004.

In 2016, he pleaded guilty to harassment. In 2014, facing a divorce, Capriotti pleaded guilty to violating a protection order.