Howard County Man Facing Federal Charges for Allegedly Making a Threatening Phone Call to an LGBTQ Advocacy Group

Baltimore, Maryland – A federal criminal complaint has been filed charging Adam Michael Nettina, age 34, of West Friendship, Maryland, for using the telephone to threaten a group that advocates for LGBTQ individuals.  The criminal complaint was filed on March 31, 2023, and Nettina was arrested later that evening.  Nettina had his initial appearance on April 3, 2023, in U.S. District Court in Baltimore before U.S. Magistrate Judge Matthew J. Maddox and was ordered to be detained pending a detention hearing scheduled for April 7, 2023, at 1:30 p.m.

The federal charge was announced by United States Attorney for the District of Maryland Erek L. Barron; Assistant Attorney General Kristen Clarke of the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division; and Special Agent in Charge Thomas J. Sobocinski of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Baltimore Field Office.

According to the affidavit filed in support of the criminal complaint, on the evening of March 28, 2023, the victim organization received a threatening voicemail from a phone number, which investigators identified as belonging to Adam Michael Nettina.  The message referenced the March 27, 2023, mass shooting at a school in Nashville, Tennessee, involving multiple shooting fatalities, where the perpetrator was publicly identified as being transgender.  During the call, numerous threats were made including, “…We’ll cut your throats.  We’ll put a bullet in your head….You’re going to kill us?  We’re going to kill you ten times more in full.”

If convicted, Nettina faces a maximum sentence of five years in federal prison for interstate communications with a threat to injure.  Actual sentences for federal crimes are typically less than the maximum penalties. A federal district court judge will determine any sentence after taking into account the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors. 

A criminal complaint is not a finding of guilt.  An individual charged by criminal complaint is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty at some later criminal proceedings. 

United States Attorney Erek L. Barron and Assistant Attorney General Kristen Clarke commended the FBI for its work in the investigation.  Mr. Barron and Ms. Clarke thanked Assistant U.S. Paul E. Budlow and Deputy Chief Bobbi Bernstein of the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division, who are prosecuting the federal case.

The U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Maryland (USAO-MD) is launching the national Department of Justice initiative, United Against Hate, this spring.  Together with our local partners, USAO-MD’s United Against Hate campaign will empower local residents and communities to combat unlawful acts of hate, stand against racism and discrimination and alter the course of growing intolerance. 

For more information on the Maryland U.S. Attorney’s Office, its priorities, and resources available to help the community, please visit www.justice.gov/usao-md and https://www.justice.gov/usao-md/community-outreach.

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