Man Charged With Threatening Family Of FCC's Pai

Activists have protested at the home of Ajit Pai

A California man is charged with threatening to kill FCC Chairman Ajit Pai's children because he was "angry" about the repeal of net neutrality regulations, the Justice Department said Friday.

Markara Man, 33, of Norwalk was arrested in Los Angeles and charged with threatening to murder an immediate family member of a U.S. official.

Ajit Pai

Prosecutors say Man sent three emails to Pai in December 2017, the month the Republican-led FCC voted to repeal the Obama-era net neutrality rules, according to Politico.

One of the emails, sent Dec. 20, to Pai's government and personal accounts had the subject line "Cheers." The body of the email listed the names and addresses of three preschools in and around Arlington, Va., where Pai lives, followed by, "I will find your children and I will kill them," according to the affidavit against Man.

The FBI traced the email's to Man's home and confronted him in May 2018. Man acknowledged sending the email that threatened Pai's family.

Man told the FBI he was "angry" about the repeal, saying, "They pretty much ignored, like, 80 percent of comments ... they ignored 'us,' and just didn't care," according to the affidavit.

Man was charged in federal court in Virginia with threatening to murder a U.S. official's immediate family member with the intent to intimidate or interfere with the official's duties. He could face up to 10 years in prison, if convicted.