A Lafayette man pleaded guilty Thursday to making threatening communications to the Lafayette office of U.S. Representative Clay Higgins.
Sohail Rana, 60, of Lafayette, pleaded guilty before U.S. District Judge Dee D. Drell to one count of threats by interstate communications.
According to the guilty plea, Rana called Higgins’ Lafayette office on July 17, 2018 while in Colorado and spoke to his district director. Rana was described as being irate, cursing and screaming during the call. He said that he would end Higgins’ career and kill Higgins. The district director noted the phone number and reported the call within minutes to his chief of staff in Washington, D.C.
Rana also made five subsequent calls that day with no additional threats. Rana took no steps toward following through on the original threat. The phone number used to call the office was traced to Rana’s cell phone, and he was later arrested in Colorado.
Rana faces up to five years in prison, one year of supervised release and a $250,000 fine. The court set sentencing for October 9, 2018.
The FBI, U.S. Capitol Police-Threat Assessment Section, Lafayette Police Department and the Costilla County Sheriff’s Office in Colorado conducted the investigation. Assistant U.S. Attorney David J. Ayo is prosecuting the case.
