Case 9:16-cr-80043-JIC Document 29 Entered on FLSD Docket 07/13/2016 Page 1 of 11

UN ITED STATES D ISTRICT CO URT

SO U TH ER N D IST RIC T O F FLO RID A

Case N o.I6A OOO -CT-CO H N/SELTZER

U NITED STATES O F AM ERICA
V S.

PRESTO N ALFM N D ER M CW ATERS,

D efendant.

I
FACTUAL PRO FFER

Ifthiscase had proceeded to trial,the United Statesw ould have proven,beyond

areasonabledoubt,thefollowirk:
'
l'heDefendant,Preston AlexanderMcW aters(hereinafter''theDefendantv),met
a w om an nam ed Devon Kenney w hen both w orked foran Atherks,G eorgia-area store in
2014.The Defendantand Kenney becam e friends.Som em ontltslater,M s.Kenney
ultim ately soughtand obtained a protecdve orderfrom theG eorgia Courts prohibiting
the Defendantfrom having contactw ith her.Thisorder,w hich rem ained in effectuntil
M arch 26,2016,required thatDefendantnothave any contact,directorindirect,w ith
Kenney.Som e m ontltslater,Kenney m oved dow n to Palm Beach County to pursue a

rom antic relatiortship and live w ith a m an living in Palm Beach County,Florida nnm ed
Eric M ead.

Based on store surveillance footage, the G overnm ent can prove that the
Defendantpurchased a TracFone atan A therks-area W alm arton Decem ber 11,2015,and
asked that the TracFone be assigned a 561-area code - the area code for Palm Beach

Countp Florida. U sing the TracFone,the D efendant then created a Tw itter account

Case 9:16-cr-80043-JIC Document 29 Entered on FLSD Docket 07/13/2016 Page 2 of 11

w ith the usenmm e ''EricM ead82.'' 'l'he Defendant chose the num bers ,,82'' because,
according to publicly available inform ation,M ead,Kenney's boyfriend,w as born in
1982. 'Ihis Tw itter account w as then used to trarksm it in interstate com m erce several

hoax bomb threats directed at John 1.Leonard High A hool and the Palm Beach
lnternational Airport,both l ated in Palm Beach Countp Florida. Exam ples of the

postingsare asfollows:''
The bom bsatJohn 1.Leonard high schoolare going to blow
soonll! M erry Chris% as you fucking kidsl' and ''I hope palm beach international

airportenjoysthe bombs lleftfortheml''. Given Defendant'sfailure to use dedicated

Tw itteraddressing sym bols such as''@''or''##''none ofthese Tw itterpostsw ere in fact
sentto the schoolorthe airport.
'rhe Defendant obtained a publicly-available photograph of the real Eric M ead
and knnqm itted in interstate com m erce this photograph along w ith a postin w hich he
stated:''Fuck yeah. Gonnn blow som e shit up!A m erical'' The Defendant used the
TracFonethathe had purchased on Decem ber11,2015,to m ake the firstofthese Tw itter
postings. Cellsite records forthe phone dem orkskate data usage clustered around the
Defendant's house and the Defendant's then-place of em ploym ent in A therks,
notw itlkstanding the factthatthe phone w as assigned to an area code corresponding to
Palm Beach County.
Around the sam e tim e, the Defendant set up an e-m ail account entitled
''

em l8z@usa.com ,'' and used this e-m ail address as the address associated w ith the

EricM ead8z Tw itter account. '

l'he ''em l''stands forEric M ead Lew is,M ead's fullnnm e
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atthe Hm e. O n Decem ber30,2015,the Defendantkartsm itted in interstate com m erce a

poston the Palm Beach Intem ationalA irportw ebsite com m entspage a threatthatread
''The bom bs thatlhave place at palm beach internationalairportare going to blow at
9:30 pm New Year's Eve. The clock is ticking...H appy new year fuckersl'' W hen

prom pted by the com m ents page for his e-m aill address, D efendant entered the
em l8z@usa.com e-m ailaddress he had created in an effortto fram e M ead. D efendant
sent the post w ith the intent to convey false and m isleading inform ation, under
circum stances w here such inform ation m ay reasonably be believed and w here such
inform ation indicated thata bom bing ofa place of public use w ould take place. In an
effortto m ask the source ofthis e-m ail,Defendantused a specialcellphone application

whichhehad purchased tocreatean anonymousinternetprotocol(''IF')address.'

lhis
application w as subsequently found on the Defendant's cellphone w hen he w as
arrested,along w ith a slip ofpapercontaining the Defendant's lop in and passw ord for
the applicadon. Defendant w ould w ind up using this IP anonym izing application to
m ask a11ofthe subsequente-m ailsand Facebook and Tw itterpostslisted below .
O n Decem ber 31,2015,the D efendantcreated another Tw itter account,this one
V t.
IIthe usernam e ''M eadl-ew is.'' The Defendant associated this accountw ith an e-

mail address he had created called ''emead8z@usa.com/' and later associated this
accountw ith a cellphone num berbelonging to anotherTracFone that,according to store
surveillance footage, he had purchased from the sam e Athens-area W alm art. The
Defendant karksm itted in interstate com m erce a photograph of Kenney that he had
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Case 9:16-cr-80043-JIC Document 29 Entered on FLSD Docket 07/13/2016 Page 4 of 11

obtained from Kenney's public Facebook profile and posted a num ber of graphic and

hostile posts aboutKermey. On January 2,2016,Defendanttrnnqm itted in interstate

commerce the following message:''your Isic)going to fucking die you cuntbitch.

w antto hear you scream w hile l skullfuck you,you psychotic w horel''and used the

dedicated Tw itteraddressing sym bol''@''in orderto send the postto Kenney's Tw itter
account. The threatw as one that w as m ade under circum stances that w ould lead a

reasonable person to believe that the Defendant intended to injure Kenney.

Furtherm ore,the defendantkansm itted the com m unication forthe purpose ofissuing a
threatorw ith know ledge thatthe com m unication w ould be view ed asa threat.Finnlly,
thesecom m unicatiorksrepresented a violadon ofthe M arch 26,2015,protecdve order.

Shortly thereafter,the Defendantset up a Facebook profile under M ead's nam e

and containing the sam e photo ofM ead used by the Tw itleraccounthe had previously

set up. On January 4, 2016,the Defendant tranqrnitted in interstate comm erce a

m essage to Kerm ey's Facebook account containing a publicly-available photo of the
crim e scene at the infam ous 1969 Sharon Tate m urder at the hands of the Charles

M nnqon fam ily w ith the follow ing caption:''Titis is how you are going to die you

w hore. Alone bloody.'' The Defendant follow ed up this m essage by transm itting in

interstatecom m erce,am ong otherthings,aposton January 7,2016which read:''Ihave

placed a $20,000 open conkact on your head. Enjoy whatlittle time you have lefl.
W hore''and on January 10,2016:''They are com ing to yourhouse in Florida and are

going to rapeand killyou...You disgusting fuck slut. I've paid them well. YourIsicl
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Case 9:16-cr-80043-JIC Document 29 Entered on FLSD Docket 07/13/2016 Page 5 of 11

gonnn suffer.'' As w ith the Tw itter O eats,these Facebook threats w ere m ade under
circurnstances that w ould lead a reasonable person to believe that the Defendant

intended toinjureKenney.Furthermore,thedefendanttransmittedthecommunication
forthe purpose ofissuing a threatorw ith know ledge thatthe com m unicadon w ould be
view ed asa threat. Finally,these com m unicatiorusrepresented a violation ofthe M arch
26,2015,protective order.

On January 12,2016,the Defendantreturned to theEricM ead8z Twitteraccount

to knnsm itin interstate com m erce the follow ing post:''l'm going to blow up the W est
palm Y ach hospital2201 45thStW estPalm Beach,FL 33407 bom bs* 1blow at6pm on

01/14/16.'' Defendant did so with the intent to convey false and misleading
inform ation,under circurnstancesw here such inform ation m ay reasonably be believed
and w here such inform ation indicated thata bom bing of a place of public use w ould
take place.

On January 27,2016,Defendantused yetanotherM ead-themed e-m ailaddress

he had created endtled ''em ead8z@usa.com ''to knnsm it in interstate com m erce an em ailto a com pany nam ed Kim ley H orn in W estPalm Beach,Florida. Defendantchose

thiscom pany Y cause he knew,from publicly-available inform ation,thatM ead w orked

atKim ley Horn.TheJanuary 27,2016,e-m ailread:''Ihaveplaced severalpoundsofc4

plastic explosiveatone ofyouroffices. 1920 W ekiva W ay Suite 200 W estPalm Beach,F1

3M 11 Ifyou do notcom ply w ith m y dem andsthen lw illdetonate thebom bs and bring

yourbuilding to theground with everyone irtside. Iwant$500,000 deliverIsiclto the

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Case 9:16-cr-80043-JIC Document 29 Entered on FLSD Docket 07/13/2016 Page 6 of 11

addressIredacted)in greenacres,Florida33415.You have24 hourstocomply.lfyou

call the cops or any other funny business then you w illcost a 1ot oflives. Don't do
anything sm pid or else...Kaboom lll'' D efendantchose the Greenacres,Florida address
because he lmd learned,from publicly-available inform ation,that M ead lived atthis
address. Thise-m ailresulted in the evacuation ofa m ulti-story building w hich housed
m any businessesand em ployees. 'fhe City ofW estPalm Beach Police D epare entand
Fire DeparM ent responded and searched the office buildinp butnothing w as found.
Defendantsentthis e-m nilw ith the intentto convey false and m isleading inform ation,
under circuxnstances w here such inform ation m ay reasonably be believed and w here

such inform ation indicated thatabom bing ofa place ofpublicuse w ould take place.
On February 2, 2016, Defendant, using the sam e em ead8z@usa.com e-m ail
address,knnsm itted in interstate com m erce the follow ing e-m ail to the principal of

JupiterHigh A hoolinPalm Beach County:''lhaveplaced severalbombsatyourschool.

They aresettoblow at2:30 pm onW ednesday 02/03/16.You willalldieunlessyou do

as Isay. Ifyou callthe cops then Iw illhave m y friends com e to you house and they
w ill kill your fam ily.''. (Ance tids e-nza; &vas received, the decision w as m ade to
evacuate the schooland sum m on approxim ately two dozen 1aw enforcem entoffkers

responded to search the school. The schoolprincipalalso m ade arrangem ents to have
the police go to his ow n children's schools and pullthem outoftheir classes to erusure
theirsafety.

Defendant sent this e-m ail w ith the intent to convey false and m isleading
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Case 9:16-cr-80043-JIC Document 29 Entered on FLSD Docket 07/13/2016 Page 7 of 11

inform adon,under circum stances w here such inform ation m ay reasonably be believed
and w here such inform ation indicated thata bom bing ofa place of public use w ould

take place. 'Ihe threatson the schoolprincipal'sfam ily w ere m ade undercircum stances

thatwouldleadareasonablepersontobelievethattheDefendantintendedtoinjurethe
schoolprincipal's fnm ily. Furtherm ore,the defendantkansm itted the com m unication
forthe purpose ofissuing a threatorw ith know ledgethatthecom m unicadon w ould be
view ed asa threat. Defendantsenta follow -up em ailthe nextday stadng thatthe prior
day'se-m ailhad been a hoax and thatthe Defendantw aslaughing atthe police.
On February 7, 2016, Defendant, again using the em ead8z@usa.com account,

knnqmitted in interstate com merce the following e-m ail to the principal of John 1.
Leonard H igh A hool,located in G reenacres,Florida:''Ihave placed 5 bom bscontaining

c4 throughoutJohn 1.Leonard high. I* 1detonate the bombs at1pm on 02/08/16

unlessyou deliver$500,000ln cash theIsicltheaddressbelow.Ifyou do notcomply

w itbin thatHm e,then Iw illdetonate the bom bs and people W ILL die. You have m y
dem ands. M ake the sm artchoice and don'tgetinnocentpeople killed by inform ing the

Police.'' Defendant concluded the e-m ail by attaching M ead's Greenacres, Florida

address,the snme addresshe had included in thehoax and threatto the JupiterH igh
principal. W hile this threatdid notresultin the evacuation ofthe school,severalpolice
officers and other law enforcem ent personnelw ere dispatched to the schoolto search
for bom bs. Defendantsentthis e-m ailw ith the intentto convey false and m isleading
inform ation,undercircum stancesw here such inform adon m ay reasonably be believed
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and w here such inform ation indicated that a bom bing ofa place of public use w ould
take place.

On February 17, 2016, Defendant used a different e-m ail address,

nightshade@engm
' eer.com , to transm it in interstate com m erce the follow ing e-m ail,

again to the principalofJupiterHigh A hool: ''W ehave placed 10 poundsofC4 plasdc

explosive around the interiorofJupitercom munity high school. Ifyou do notbring

$10,000,000.00 in cash to IaddressredactedlJupiter,F133458 by 12pm on Friday,then

w e w illblow up yourschooland everyone irkside. This is nota negotiable term . D on't
be heroes and get people killed. Bring the cash and your schoolw illbe spared the
blood of infidels. Allah Akbar.'' Defendant had learned from publicly-available

informadon thattheJupiter,Floridaaddressprovided in theemailw asthethen-current

hom e address of M ead and Kenney. Defendant sent this e-m ail w ith the intent to
convey false and m isleading inform adon,under circum stancesw here such inform ation
m ay reasonably be believed and w here such inform ation indicated thata bom bing ofa
place ofpublic use w ould tmke place.
On

M arch

4,

2016,

Defendant

used

the

e-m ail

address

DevonKenneyg4@m ail.com to trarksm itin interstate com m erce the follow ing e-m ailthe
principalofBeacon Cove Interm ediateA hoolin Palm Beach County: ''W e have placed
13 chem icalw eaportsthroughoutyourfacilities. They w illdetonate at10:30 a.m .M arch

7,2016 ifyou do notcomply with our demands and bring $20,000,000.00 to Iaddress
redacted)Jupiter,FL 33458 by the tim e ofdetonation. Ifyou even try to contactthe
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Case 9:16-cr-80043-JIC Document 29 Entered on FLSD Docket 07/13/2016 Page 9 of 11

authoritiesand alertthem to the situadon then w e w illdetonate the w eaporks early and
everyone of your students w illdie. You have 4 days.Do not fuck w ith us! W e are

watching you ''L.B.1111named redactedl''and yourfnmily.'' Defendantused thesnme

Jupiteraddressin he had used in the February 17,2016 e-m ail,the then-currenthom e
address ofM ead and Kerm ey.Defendantalso knew thatKenney had been born in 1994,
and crafted the DevonKerm eyg4lm ail.com e-m ail address to reflect that fact. W hile
tltis e-m ail did not result in the evacuation of the school,severalpolice officers and
other law enforcem ent personnelw ere dispatched to the school to ser ch for bom bs,
and the principal w as genuinely concerned for both her and her fnm ily's safety.
Defendantsentthise-m ailw ith the intentto convey false and m isleading inform ation,
under circurnstances w here such inform ation m ay reasonably be believed and w here
such inform ation indicated that a bom bing ofa place ofpublic use w ould take place.
Thetltreatson the schoolprincipal'sfam ily w ere m ade undercircum stances thatw ould

lead a reasonable person to Y lieve thatthe Defendant intended to kjure the school
principal'sfnm ily. Furtherm ore,the defendanttransm itled the com m unication for the

purpose of issuing a threat or w ith know ledge that the com m unicadon w ould be
view ed as athreat.
Finally,on M arch 7,2016,Defendantused the sam e Devo< erm eyg4@m ail.com
e-m ailaddress to trarusm itin interstate com m erce the follow ing e-m ailto the assistant
principalofPalm Beach CenkalH igh A hoolin Palm Beach County: ''W e have placed
13 chem icalw eaporks throughoutPalm Beach CenkalH igh Y hoolfacilides. They w ill
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detonate at10:30 am M arch 10,2016 ifyou do notcom ply w 1t11ourdem andsand bring

$20,000,000.00 American to ''Iaddress redactedl Jupiter, FL 33458'' by the Hm e of

detonation. You have 3 days to bring the m oney. Do not fuck w ith us! W e are

watching you ''L.D.1011nnme redactedl''and YOUR FAM ILY. Comply V t.IA our
demandsand no harm w illbe done.'' Defendantused the sam eJupiteraddress in he
had used in the February 17,2016 e-m ail,the then-currenthom e address ofM ead and
Kenney. W hile this e-m aildid notresultin the evacuation ofthe school,severalpolice

officers and other law enforcem entpersonnelw ere dispatched to the schoolto search

for bom bs,and the assistant principalw as genuinely concem ed for both her and her
fam ily's safety. Defendant sent this e-m ail w ith the intent to convey false and
m isleading inform ation,under circum stances w here such inform adon m ay reasonably
l)e G lieved and w here such irtform ation indicated thata bom bing of a place ofpublic
use &vould take place.The threats on the assistantprincipal's fnm ily w ere m ade under
circu> tances that w ould lead a reasonable person to believe that the Defendant

intended to injure the assistant principal's family. Furthermore, the defendant

karusm itted the com m unication for the purpose of issuing a threator w ith know ledge
thatthe com m unication w ould be view ed asa threat.
'Ihis proffer does not contain a11 inform ation know n by the G ovem m ent but
containssufficientevidence to prove the elem entsofthecrim es to w hich Defendantis

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Case 9:16-cr-80043-JIC Document 29 Entered on FLSD Docket 07/13/2016 Page 11 of 11

pleading guilty.
W IFRED O A .FERRER
UN ITED STATES AU ORN EY

Date: 7-,5-1C

By:
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JAN SM ITH,Assis t deralPubiicDefender

ATTO RN EY FO R D

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TO N A LEX A N D ER M CW A TERS
D EFEN D A N T

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