"We believe in protecting all citizens who deserve to live their lives in peace. This antisocial behavior cannot fester without serious attention and prevention. Thanks to our dedicated law enforcement partners for taking this very seriously and putting this criminal behind bars."
"the evidence that the defendant selected the victims in this case because they are gay is overwhelming"
"I have probably pages of accounts I've blocked that are all him, and he just makes new ones. There were some messages that were sent to people in my network who don't even live in North Carolina, suggesting that I should die."
David Ryan Winters, 40, was convicted of cyberstalking and targeting gay men in the Raleigh-Durham area with death threats and harassment spanning years. Despite volunteering at Raleigh's LGBT Center in 2013-2014, Winters was rejected by the community and became enraged. He researched victims' personal information, visited their homes, sent threatening messages, and expressed intent to replicate the 2016 Pulse nightclub shooting. One victim was Raleigh City Council member Jonathan Lambert-Melton, who reported blocking numerous accounts created by Winters. The US Attorney's Office emphasized the overwhelming evidence that Winters selected victims based on sexual orientation and stressed the importance of protecting citizens from such antisocial behavior.
Read at PinkNews | Latest lesbian, gay, bi and trans news | LGBTQ+ news
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