Montco Man Pleads Guilty to Shooting at County Democratic Headquarters

Keith Heffintrayer | North Penn Now•

48-year-old Anthony Nero, of Eagleville.

A Montgomery County man has pleaded guilty to charges stemming from last year’s shooting at the Montgomery County Democratic Committee headquarters in Norristown.

Anthony Nero, 48, pleaded guilty on Wednesday in federal court to charges of sending threatening communications and cyberstalking, according to a release from the Montgomery County District Attorney’s Office. Nero had initially been charged locally, however Federal investigators took over the case and took Nero into custody in March 2021.

“In the midst of a politically tumultuous time in our Nation, Anthony Nero sent a threatening communication and then turned those words into a violent act that could have resulted in catastrophic injury, or worse,” said U.S. Attorney Jennifer Williams. “I want to thank our partners in the Montgomery County District Attorney’s Office and all agencies at the federal, state and local levels for their dedicated work on this case.”

On Jan. 20, 2021, Norristown Police were dispatched at 4:38 p.m. to the Montgomery County Democratic Committee Office at 21 E. Airy Street 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.

The shots into the office came after the Democratic Committee had received a threatening email on Jan. 7, which Levy had reported to Norristown Police.

The email read:

“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.

“Threatening violence is bad enough – but then, Anthony Nero carried out his threat and fired multiple gunshots into the MCDP office,” said Jacqueline Maguire, Special Agent in Charge of the FBI’s Philadelphia Division. “The FBI and our law enforcement partners are committed to investigating and holding accountable anyone engaged in such criminal behavior. Nobody should have to fear becoming the target of reckless violence.”

At Nero’s preliminary arraignment on Feb. 18, 2021, Magisterial District Judge Richard Welsh set bail at 10% of $50,000 cash, and court records indicate that Nero promptly posted bail and we freed from custody. Hours after posting bail, Nero’s Facebook account — littered with claims of a stolen election and calls for people to buy ammunition — was taken offline.

Nero was subsequently taken into custody by federal authorities as he approached Magisterial District Judge Margaret Hunsicker’s court for his preliminary hearing on March 3, 2021. Subsequently, all charges filed by the Montgomery County District Attorney’s Office have been withdrawn, according to court records.

“I want to thank the U.S. Attorney’s Office for their efforts in prosecuting this defendant for terroristic threats against the Montgomery County Democratic Committee. There is no place for this kind of criminal behavior in our democracy, and our law enforcement will continue to stand together to make sure that those who act in this way are brought to justice,” said Montgomery County District Attorney Kevin Steele.

The case was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Norristown Police Department, Montgomery County Detective Bureau, Montgomery County District Attorney’s Office and the Pennsylvania State Police.

Nero now awaits a sentencing hearing in federal court.

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