WASHINGTON — A 35-year-old Queens man pleaded guilty Thursday to threatening to kill a congressional staff member and making more than 12,000 harassing phone calls to members of Congress over a period of less than two years.
Ade Salim Lilly pleaded guilty to threatening to kidnap or harm someone in interstate commerce, as well as making repeated harassing phone calls. The more than 12,000 calls, of which more than 6,526 were directed to Congressional offices in Washington, D.C., were made to the offices of 54 members of Congress between February 2022 and November 2023, when Lilly was arrested, according to the court records.
A spokesperson for the U.S. Capitol Police told NBC News that the calls targeted both political parties, although he was unable to identify individual targets.
Lilly, who has been in custody since his arrest, pleaded guilty before U.S. District Judge Timothy Kelly, who set a sentencing hearing for Aug. 28 at 2 p.m. ET.
Plea documents say Lilly’s calls were answered by staffers and interns of members of Congress and that he would “become angry and use vulgar and hostile language” toward those who answered the phone.
“Based on her harassing communication, congressional staff members repeatedly asked Defendant Lilly to refrain from calling,” her agreed statement of offense reads. “Additionally, officers from the United States Capitol Police informed Defendant Lilly on multiple occasions that his calls were unwanted and, due to the nature of harassment, were prohibited by law.”
In one case, on October 21, 2022, Lilly told a congressional staffer, “I’m going to kill you, I’m going to run you over, I’m going to kill you with a bomb or a grenade.”
Some employees would “stop answering the phone” because of Lilly’s persistent calls, according to court documents, including when he attacked an office more than 500 times.
This article was originally published in NBCNews. with
