Federal Agents Take Accused Montco Terrorist into Custody, New Charges to Be Unsealed Friday

A Montgomery County man who stands of accused of firing multiple shots into the county democratic committee office on Inauguration Day will now be tried in federal court.

Anthony Nero, 48, of Eagleville, was initially charged with felony terrorism and related offenses in February, in connection with a threatening email that was sent to the county democratic committee on Jan. 7 — the day after the insurrection at the Capitol — and a shots-fired incident that occurred at their Airy Street headquarters in Norristown on Jan. 20.

However, as Nero approached Magisterial District Judge Margaret Hunsicker’s court for his preliminary hearing on Wednesday, he was instead met by a group of FBI agents who subsequently took him into custody, according to reports.

The nature of the federal charges is believed to be related to domestic terrorism, though a source told North Penn Now that the official charges will not be known until the indictment is unsealed at a federal hearing scheduled for noon on Friday, March 5. Subsequently, all charges filed by the Montgomery County District Attorney’s Office have been withdrawn, according to court records.

A representative from the district attorney’s office declined to comment on the federal case.

On Jan. 20, Norristown Police were dispatched at 4:38 p.m. to the Montgomery County Democratic Committee Office at 21 E. Airy Street in Norristown for a report of gun shots having been fired into the office. Brian Levy, executive director of the Montgomery County Democratic Committee, told officers he had just arrived at the office and found three bullet holes in the office’s front window. Two of the three projectiles were retrieved by officers from a desk inside the office and were determined to have come from a .45-caliber handgun.

That gunfire occurred less than two weeks after the Democratic Committee had received a threatening email on Jan. 7, which Levy had also reported to Norristown Police.

The email read, verbatim:

“Comment just wanted to let your offices know that you should probably beef up security. With this stolen election and Coup d’etat, violence is the only language you bloodsuckers understand. F*** you and your BLM bullshit along with ANTIFA. We WILL end this insurrection. Again, TRUMP YOU! You f***ing traitors. Random acts of violence are difficult to investigate. Have fun.” (Note: expletives altered.)

Norristown Police immediately launched an investigation into the source of the email message. With help from the FBI, Pennsylvania State Police and Montgomery County Detectives, they said they traced the IP address for the email message to Nero’s residence and cellphone. A search warrant was executed, and a loaded 45-caliber Springfield Armory firearm registered to Nero was reportedly found in his vehicle, investigators said.

Nero was charged with Terrorism, Terroristic Threats, Carrying a Firearm Without a License and Recklessly Endangerment. He was arraigned before Magisterial District Judge Richard H. Welsh, who set bail at 10% of $50,000 cash.

Court records indicate that Nero promptly posted bail following his preliminary arraignment on Feb. 18 and was released from custody. Shortly after his release, Nero’s Facebook account — which was littered with claims of a stolen election and calls for people to buy ammunition — was taken offline.

It remains unclear if Nero deleted the account himself, or if Facebook removed the account for a violation of their terms of service agreement.

Prosecutors would later argue via a bail revocation motion that Nero should be remanded to county jail, stating that Nero’s willingness to carry out the shooting, as well as his alleged confession to both sending the email and firing the shots, proved that he remained a threat to the public. However, that argument would never be heard in court, as the hearing for the motion had yet to be scheduled and he has since been taken into custody on the federal charges.

According to a report by Carl Hessler Jr. at The Reporter, Nero is currently being held at the federal detention center in Philadelphia. Nero’s attorney, Timothy Woodward, told Hessler that he was disappointed that the case would not be prosecuted locally, and later added that he thought the “current political climate in the country” was the reason that federal prosecutors took the case.

All suspects and defendants are innocent until proven guilty. This story was compiled using court records and the affidavit of probable cause. 

See also:

Accused Montco Domestic Terrorist Gets Bailed Out, Facebook Account Removed Short Time Later

Man Charged With Domestic Terrorism In Connection With Shots Fired Incident At MCDC Headquarters

Montgomery County Democratic Headquarters Struck By Gunfire On Inauguration Day

Perkasie Man Accused Of Assaulting Female Store Clerk Over Mask Request: Police

Montco DA Announces Takedown Of Multi-County Gun Trafficking Organization