Prison Sentence for Man Accused of Threatening Tulsi Gabbard
A 44-year-old man, identified as Aniruddha Sherbow, was sentenced Monday to 33 months in prison for making a series of threats against Congresswoman Tulsi Gabbard, United States Representative for the 2nd District of Hawai’i.
Sherbow, whose last known address was in Pughkeepsie, N.Y., entered a plea of nolo contendere on Feb. 21, 2014 in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia to two counts of transmission of threats in interstate commerce.
Under a nolo contendere plea, the defendant is convicted of the offense, accepts responsibility, and agrees that the government could prove him guilty beyond reasonable doubt. However, the defendant in the plea does not admit to the facts of the case.
Sentencing was announced by Ronald C. Machen Jr., U.S. Attorney for the District of Columbia, Kim C. Dine, Chief of the United States Capitol Police, and Andrew G. McCabe, Assistant Director in Charge of the FBI’s Washington Field Office.
The Honorable Reggie B. Walton accepted the plea and sentenced Sherbow.
Once Sherbow’s prison term has been served, he will be placed on three years of supervised release. During his supervised release, he is banned from any direct or indirect contact with Congresswoman Gabbard.
In addition to his prison sentencing, Judge Walton ordered Sherbow to pay $538,282 in restitution to the United States government. The money will act as a reimbursement for security expenses incurred as a result of his threats.
Judge Walton also ordered Sherbow to get a mental health evaluation, as well as treatment if necessary.
On Aug. 28, 2013, Sherbow was arrested in Tijuana, Mexico by Policia Estatal Preventiva, Baja California State Police Fugitive Unit under a federal arrest warrant issued in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia.
Sherbow has been in custody since his arrest.
In addition to New York, officials say Sherbow has also lived in Hawai’i, California and Mexico.
Government evidence shows that Sherbow had been harassing Congresswoman Gabbard since February 2011. The harassment included making threats through e-mail and telephone.
The charges related to two of these threats were made in August of 2013.
Sherbow left a voicemail message on Congresswoman Gabbard’s phone on Aug. 2, 2013, in which he threatened to kill her. At the time, Congresswoman Gabbard was in Washington, D.C.
Again, on Aug. 3, 2014, Sherbow threatened Congresswoman Gabbard, this time through e-mail and he identified himself by name. The e-mail was also sent to others, including the FBI.
U.S. Attorney Machen, Chief Dine, and Assistant Director in Charge McCabe commended the work of those who investigated the case from the U.S. Capitol Police and the FBI when announcing the sentence.
Appreciation was also expressed for the work of the Policia Estatal Preventiva, Baja California State Police Fugitive Unit; U.S. Customer and Border Protection, San Ysidro, and the San Diego and Honolulu Divisions of the FBI for their crucial work and joint collaboration in apprehending Sherbow.
The efforts of Assistant U.S. Attorney’s Michael C. DiLorenzo and Christopher Kavanaugh, who investigated and prosecuted the case, were also acknowledged.
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