A federal judge has handed a 46 month prison sentence to 25 year old John Gregory Garza, a Chicago man whose months long barrage of threatening Facebook messages terrorized two women in Oklahoma. Prosecutors said the posts were laced with racial slurs and sexually violent language and left the women genuinely afraid for their safety. Because the harassment crossed state lines and involved interstate communications, the case landed in federal court.
Sentence and charges
According to FBI Oklahoma City, federal prosecutors secured the sentence after charging Garza with cyberstalking and transmitting interstate threats. The bureau described Garza’s conduct as a series of repeated, targeted Facebook messages aimed at the two Oklahoma women, with content that was both racial and sexually violent. Officials said the prison term is meant to send a clear message about how seriously they treat online threats that cross state lines.
Federal law and penalties
Federal prosecutors typically use statutes designed for online harassment and interstate threats to bring cyberstalking cases…..