"You and Your Husband Are Dead": Boynton Beach Man Convicted for Voicemail Threat to George Santos

This past  Friday, February 23, a federal jury convicted a Boynton Beach man for leaving a voicemail at the Washington, D.C., office of then-U.S. Rep. George Santos in which he threatened to kill Santos and his husband.

In a menacing January 29, 2023, voicemail filled with homophobic slurs, Frank Stanzione, a 53-year-old self-described gay-rights activist, informed Santos he was going to bash his head in until his "brains are splattered across the fucking wall."

"George Santos, you fat fucking piece-of-shit faggot. You better watch your motherfucking back because I'm gonna bash your motherfucking faggot head in with a bat until your brains are splattered across the fucking wall," Stanzione said in the voicemail. "You lying, disgusting, disgraceful motherfucking faggot. You motherfucking piece of shit. You're gonna get fucking murdered, you goddamn lying piece of garbage. Watch your back, you fat, ugly piece of shit. You and your husband are dead."

The U.S. Capitol Police Threat Assessment Section traced the call to Stanzione's cellphone in South Florida. In an interview with U.S. Capitol Police special agents days later, Stanzione admitted to making the call and apologized for leaving the voicemail.

According to court documents, Stanzione said he called Santos because he wanted to "let him know what a piece of shit he was" and "to make him feel like a piece of shit." Stanzione told investigators he did not want the then-congressman "in his gay community."

A grand jury indicted Stanzione in April 2023 on a felony charge of issuing a death threat in a phone call across state lines.

The federal complaint in the case did not name the victim, nor did a U.S. Attorney's Office press release announcing the verdict. But Santos had been identified in prior coverage and obliquely referred Stanzione's tirade last fall.

And in a motion have the charges dismissed, public defender Jan C. Smith II argued that Stanzione was being retaliated against for exercising his "fundamental constitutional right in his political speech toward congressman George Santos."

"At the time of the voicemail, congressman Santos had engaged in several political acts considered by gay-rights activists to be 'anti-gay,' and which caused angry political backlash from members in the gay-rights community, " Smith argued. "The defendant's speech in this case was related to, and voicing a protest related to those acts."

Smith noted that cases involving similar threats were rarely prosecuted.

"It is clear that the overwhelming majority of these threat investigations did not result in prosecutions, and that the defendant's prosecution for this conduct is exceptionally and extremely rare," the motion reads.

The defense further contended that prosecutions related to the January 6 insurrection "have been treated less severely than activism and mere speech related to gay rights," reiterating that Stanzione is a passionate advocate for gay rights who was deeply offended by what he termed as Santos' "anti-gay agenda."

"The defendant's activist passions were stirred," the attorney argued. "Yet, his actions were only to speak out, and included no actual violence, or any steps towards violence."

The government countered that Stanzione was clearly making a "true threat" — one that would lead a reasonable person to believe he intended to hurt Santos.

Federal prosecutors added that when interviewed by agents, Stanzione referred to his comments as a threat rather than a political statement, saying, "I’ve never threatened to hurt anyone until Sunday night."

"There is no colorable link between [his] motivation and political speech. He is not advocating for the election of a political candidate, nor is he attempting to gain public support for a political issue. Even if there were some link between his true threat and a political viewpoint, a true threat motivated by political views is still a true threat," Special Assistant U.S. Attorney Joseph Wheeler wrote.

The judge denied Stanzione's motion to dismiss in November 2023.

Sentencing is set for May 2. Stanzione faces up to five years in prison and a maximum fine of $250,000.

Santos was expelled from Congress in December 2023 after an ethics report found that he misused campaign funds, spending the money on Botox, OnlyFans, and other personal expenses.