NEWPORT NEWS, Va. — Last week, a federal grand jury in Newport News indicted a 50-year-old man on multiple felony counts after prosecutors said he used social media platforms to send violent threats to former classmates and coworkers earlier this year.
The indictment, unsealed last week in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia, charges William Joseph Wheeler with four counts of transmitting threats to kidnap or injure others using interstate communications, in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 875(c).
Prosecutors allege Wheeler, who resides in Panama, sent threatening messages via Classmates.com and Facebook between February and March of 2024 and 2025. According to court documents, he referenced firearms and expressed intent to harm specific individuals, including former high school classmates and a former coworker…