United States Attorney's Office

Northern District of Florida

September 28, 2007
FOR MORE INFORMATION CONTACT:
Managing Asst. U.S. Attorney Dixie A. Morrow
(850) 444-4000

E-MAIL THREATS NET SENDER TWO YEARS IN FEDERAL PRISON

Pensacola, Florida - United States Attorney Gregory R. Miller, Northern District of Florida, announced today that King Nazir Muhammed also known as Nicholas Elliott Black, 28, of Pensacola, Florida, was sentenced by United States District Judge M. Casey Rodgers to 24 months imprisonment for interstate transportation of threatening communications.

     On December 9, 2006, Muhammed sent e-mails from the Pensacola Public Library to out-of-state news outlets WTEN-TV in Albany, New York and WLTX News 19 in Columbia, South Carolina. Muhammed’s emails threatened “I am going to get on a bus strapped with explosives somewhere in greater new york area and detinate it and kill myself and everyone else because I WILL NOT be socially enslaved to a system that doesn’t allow the freedom of choice concerning same sex marriage.”

     United States Attorney Miller had high praise for the case agents. “Pensacola Police Department Detective Greg Stone and Escambia County Sheriff’s Office Sergeant Doyle Gresham are to be commended for their fine work on this case. They were detailed to the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) Joint Terrorism Task Force (JTTF), the mission of which is to prevent acts of terrorism before they occur, and to effectively and swiftly respond to identify and prosecute those who threaten such acts. The local JTTF is made up of highly trained and committed local, state, and federal law enforcers and intelligence analysts. Detective Stone’s and Sergeant Gresham’s work to identify Muhammed as the source of these interstate threats is a very real reminder of the value of the JTTF. I thank Chief John Mathis and Sheriff Ron McNesby for making these skilled officers a part of that team.”

     The case was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Stephen P. Preisser.