A Florida leftist got himself indicted for allegedly threatening to kill Alina Habba in a series of posts on social media that used the term “86,” which is widely known as a euphemism for “do away with ” or “get rid of,” leading to multiple charges being filed against the man by the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Middle District of Florida.
For context, in a June 27, 2025, press release, United States Attorney Gregory Kehoe announced that Salvatore Russotto, a 58-year-old man from Orlando, was being indicted for “threatening to injure and kill” the United States Attorney for the District of New Jersey, Alina Habba. Moreover, the press release stated that Russotto also faces a charge of retaliating against a federal law officer with a threat.
The press release provided further details on Russotto’s online conduct, explaining that he “made a threat to injure and kill the victim in a series of postings from an online account belonging to him.” Moreover, Russotto specifically wrote, “A slow painful death for HABBA,” “Eliminate HABBA. 86 Traitor. Death penalty for all traitors,” and “I HOPE YOU DIE A PAINFUL DEATH.”
Even more shocking were additional posts retrieved by Fox News Digital: “[VICTIM] is a c—” and “86 that b—-.” In response, FBI Director Kash Patel said the incident was “yet another disturbing example of a dangerous copycat inspired by the reckless behavior of former officials, targeting those who serve our country and threatening the very people working to keep America safe.”
In addition, Fox News Digital reported that Patel’s description of Russotto as a “dangerous copycat” referred to a social media post in which former FBI Director James Comey posted a now-deleted picture of shells laid out to spell “86 47 in the sand,” writing, “Cool shell formation on my beach walk.”
Weighing in on the negative impact of such “copycat” incidents, PAtel said, “Do you know how many agents I’ve had to take offline from chasing down child sex predators, fentanyl traffickers, terrorists, because, everywhere across this country, people are popping up on social media and think that a threat to the life of the president of the United States is a joke and they can do it because he did it?”
Importantly, U.S. Attorney Kehoe described at least one statement from Russotto’s account as “a true threat of violence,” but clarified, “An indictment is merely a formal charge that a defendant has committed one or more violations of federal criminal law, and every defendant is presumed innocent unless, and until, proven guilty.”
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Furthermore, the press release from U.S. Attorney Kehoe’s office noted that the investigation was a collaborative effort between the Federal Bureau of Investigation’s Newark, New Jersey, and Tampa, Florida Field Offices, along with the United States Marshals Service.
Featured image credit: Alina Habba via X