DMP:RAS/FJN/APW

F.#2021R00818

UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT

EASTERN DISTRICT OF NEW YORK
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TO BE FILED UNDER SEAL
UNITED STATES OF AMERICA
COMPLAINT AND
- against - AFFIDAVIT IN SUPPORT
OF ARREST WARRANT
ROBERT FEHRING,
Case No. 21-MJ-1363
Defendant.
(18 U.S.C. § 876(c))
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EASTERN DISTRICT OF NEW YORK, SS:

MARGARET MURPHY, being duly sworn, deposes and states that she is a

Special Agent with the Federal Bureau of Investigation, duly appointed according to law and

acting as such.

On or about and between June 6, 2018 and September 9, 2021, both dates being

approximate and inclusive, within the Eastern District of New York and elsewhere, the defendant

ROBERT FEHRING knowingly and willfully did deposit in a post office or authorized

depository for mail matter, to be sent and delivered by the United States Postal Service (the

“USPS”), and did cause to be delivered by the USPS according to the directions thereon, one or

more communications addressed to another and containing threats to injure the person of

another.

(Title 18, United States Code, Section 876(c))

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The source of your deponent’s information and the grounds for her belief are as

follows: 1

I. Background

1. I am a Special Agent with the Federal Bureau of Investigation and have

been involved in the investigation of cases involving, among other offenses, threats and hate

crimes. I am currently assigned to the New York Field Office. I am familiar with the facts and

circumstances set forth below from my participation in this investigation; my review of

documents, records and reports; and from reports of other law enforcement officers involved in

the investigation.

2. The defendant ROBERT FEHRING is a 74-year-old resident of Bayport,

New York. Since 2013, FEHRING has sent organizations and businesses associated with the

lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer or questioning (“LGBTQ+”) community, as well as

government agencies, numerous letters via the USPS in which he has threatened violence,

including through the use of firearms and explosives.

II. Threatening Letters Authored by ROBERT FEHRING

3. In the course of this investigation, law enforcement has identified at least

60 letters, postmarked between June 2013 and September 2021, that appear to be authored or

sent by ROBERT FEHRING, including the following:

A. The June 24, 2019 Letter

4. A letter postmarked June 24, 2019 and addressed to a member of the

Patchogue Chamber of Commerce stated in part:

1
Because this affidavit is being submitted for the limited purpose of
establishing probable cause, I have not described every fact learned during the investigation.
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If you continue to plan to have the LGBT thing at Alive at

five, be prepared by having a large police presence, and
numerous ambulances available.

5. A copy of this letter was recovered from ROBERT FEHRING’s residence

in Bayport, New York, during execution of a judicially authorized premises search warrant on or

about November 18, 2021 (the “FEHRING Residence Search”).

B. The May 20, 2021 Letter

6. A letter postmarked May 20, 2021 and addressed to the executive director

of an organization that plans and produces LGBTQ+ pride events in New York City (“Victim-

1”) stated in part:

AS YOU FUCKING SCUM ARE PREPARING TO

WALTZ YOUR FRUITY, FREAKY, FAGGOT ASSES
DOWN THE NY PARADE LANE(S), WE WARN YOU
THAT THERE WILL BE RADIO-CONT[R]OLLED
DEVICES PLACED AT NUMEROUS STRATEGIC
PLACES, AND FIREPOWER AIMED AT YOU FROM
OTHER STRATEGIC PLACES. WE’VE HAD
ENOUGH!!! THIS WILL MAKE THE 2016 ORLANDO
PULSE NIGHTCLUB SHOOTING LOOK LIKE A
CAKEWALK.

7. Based on my training, experience and participation in this investigation, I

understand the “2016 Orlando Pulse Nightclub Shooting” to refer to a mass shooting at Pulse, a

gay nightclub in Orlando, Florida, on or about June 12, 2016. Approximately 49 people were

killed in the shooting and dozens of others were wounded. I also understand the referenced

parade to be the June 27, 2021 New York City Pride March.

8. The envelope containing the May 20, 2021 letter was marked with a blue

“CONFIDENTIAL” stamp preceded by a red exclamation mark (the “Confidential Stamp”). An

image of the Confidential Stamp is below:

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9. A rubber stamp that appears identical to the Confidential Stamp was

recovered during the FEHRING Residence Search. In an interview with law enforcement

officers on or about November 18, 2021, after waiving his Miranda rights, ROBERT FEHRING

stated that he at times used the Confidential Stamp to ensure the letters were taken seriously and

reached their intended recipient.

10. Law enforcement officers further recovered during the FEHRING

Residence Search multiple post-it notes with handwriting that referenced LGBTQ+ organizations

and public figures, including the name and address of Victim-1, and a calendar with an entry on

June 27, 2021 that read “NYC Pride 12-3,” which appears to be a reference to the New York

City Pride March discussed in the May 20, 2021 letter.

C. The June 9, 16, and 25, 2021 Letter Series

11. A letter postmarked June 9, 2021, and addressed to the chief executive

officer of an LGBTQ+-affiliated nonprofit organization in Sag Harbor, New York (“Victim-2”)

stated in part:

BETTER BE READY TO MEET YOUR END IF YOU

SHOW UP AT EISENHOWER ON SUNDAY. IT’S A
GREAT PLACE TO UNLOAD A HIGH-POWERED
RIFLE BULLET FROM A DISTANCE, THAT CAN GO
RIGHT THROUGH YOUR GAY FACE. YOU WERE
WARNED….PAY THE PRICE IF YOU WANT. THEY
CAN CALL YOU A MARTYR. WE CAN CALL
YOU…..GONE.

The envelope was marked with the Confidential Stamp.

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12. Based on my training, experience and knowledge of this investigation, I

understand “Eisenhower” to refer to Eisenhower Park in East Meadow, New York, at which

Victim-2’s organization hosted a LGBTQ+ Pride event on or about June 13, 2021 (the

“Eisenhower Pride Event”).

13. A subsequent envelope postmarked June 16, 2021 was sent to Victim-2

containing a doctored Newsday newspaper with photographs of the Eisenhower Pride Event with

derogatory captions. Victim-2 told the FBI that he had not previously seen the photographs and

the FBI has not been able to identify them online, which indicates that ROBERT FEHRING took

the photographs or received them from someone present at the event. A redacted copy of the

doctored newspaper is below:

The original doctored Newsday newspaper was recovered during the FEHRING Residence

Search.

14. A third letter postmarked June 25, 2021 was sent to Victim-2 and stated in

part:

[W]e were right there you fudge-packing, scum-sucking,

disgusting, fucking animal…FREAK!!! They couldn’t get
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a shot off at you, slithering around the back stage area like
a snake. Too many cops. Very disappointed. But your
time has come. . . . They are out to KILL you….and your
boyfriend. You are being watched. No matter how long
it takes, you will be taken out….high-powered
bullet….bomb…..knife…. whatever it takes.

15. The June 25, 2021 letter also contained a photograph of the Eisenhower

Pride Event that appears to be taken at the same location as one of the photographs included in

the doctored Newsday newspaper, and the envelope was marked with the Confidential Stamp.

A redacted image of the June 25, 2021 letter is below:

16. Law enforcement officers recovered during the FEHRING Residence

Search a printed copy of a June 14, 2021 email containing the same photograph included in the

June 25, 2021 letter. The email was sent to and from the same email address, which was

identified as an email address used by ROBERT FEHRING, with the subject line “Fag 2.”

17. Law enforcement officers also recovered during the FEHRING Residence

Search a post-it note on which Victim-2’s name was handwritten, as well as two 2021 calendars
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with handwritten entries noting the Eisenhower Pride Event on June 13, 2021, specifically

stating “Pride Eisenhower 12-4.”

D. The September 9, 2021 Letter

18. A letter postmarked September 9, 2021 and addressed to the owner

(“Victim-3”) of a barber shop affiliated with the LGBTQ+ community in Brooklyn, New York,

which had recently been publicized on local news, including on News 12, stated in part:

You unnatural, abnormal, deviant, perverse

scum…animals… lower than the shit at the bottom of the
pig pen. . . . Men having oral and anal sex with each other
is as twisted and beyond comprehension as it gets. Gay
niggas going at it is even more gross and horrendous
human behavior. . . . Thanks to News 12, we now know
who you are, and where you are. And your shop is the
perfect target for a bombing and/or graffiti and/or a
shattered window front….or beating the scum that
frequents your den of shit into a bloody pool of steaming
flesh.

19. The envelope containing the September 9, 2021 letter was marked with the

Confidential Stamp.

20. Notably, News 12 was on the television at ROBERT FEHRING’s

residence at the inception of the FEHRING Residence Search.

21. All of the letters described above were deposited in an authorized

depository for mail matter and delivered by the USPS.

E. Additional Letters by ROBERT FEHRING

22. Additional letters that I have reviewed during the course of this

investigation that were also authored or sent by ROBERT FEHRING contain true threats,

including letters postmarked between June 6, 2018 and September 9, 2021. These additional

letters and their respective envelopes contain similarities in both their content and format that
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show they were written by FEHRING. Many of the letters were sent in envelopes marked with

the Confidential Stamp. Many of the letters contain references to “only 3%” of the population

being LGBTQ+ and references to heterosexual individuals as “normal” people; several of the

letters describe LGBTQ+ individuals as worse than the “bottom of the pig-pen” or state that

“even animals know better” than to engage in same-sex sexual activity; several letters use the

phrase “radio-controlled devices”; and many focus on the hanging of “Pride” or Rainbow flags in

Sayville, New York. Many of the letters use all capitalization for some of the most

inflammatory language and frequently contain ellipses throughout. Numerous letters consistent

with this pattern and format were recovered during the FEHRING Residence Search.

III. Additional Evidence That ROBERT FEHRING Sent the Threats

23. On or about June 8, 2021, an elected official in Long Island (“Victim-4”)

received a letter in an envelope marked with the Confidential Stamp. The June 8, 2021 letter

stated in part:

MEN HAVING ORAL AND ANAL SEX IS ABOUT THE

MOST DISGUSTING, WARPED, HORRENDOUS
THING HUMAN BEINGS CAN DO….LOWER THAN
THE SHIT AT THE BOTTOM OF THE PIG-PEN.
EVEN ANIMALS KNOW BETTER.

IT IS ALL ABNORMAL, UNNATURAL, DEVIANT,

PERVERSE…..AND THANK GOD, ONLY 3% OF THE
POPULATION.

24. In or about mid-June 2021, Victim-4 received another letter in an envelope

marked with the Confidential Stamp. The letter was sent after Victim-4 wrote an article in a

local paper celebrating Pride Month. The letter enclosed Victim-4’s article and described

Victim-4 as “nothing but a slimy, slithering politician who bends with the agenda-for-the-day

winds.” The FBI sent the envelope containing the letter (the “Envelope”) to the FBI Laboratory
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in Quantico, Virginia for DNA analysis. Based on my review of the lab analysis, a comparison

to a known sample recovered from ROBERT FEHRING on or about October 23, 2021 found

that FEHRING was 1.3 septillion times more likely to be a contributor to the DNA recovered

from the Envelope than an unknown and unrelated person.

25. Moreover, law enforcement officers recovered additional evidence during

the FEHRING Residence Search confirming that ROBERT FEHRING authored or sent the

threats. Specifically, law enforcement officers recovered copies of letters containing threats; 20

multi-colored LGBTQ+ related flags that appear to be identical to flags stolen from flagpoles in

Sayville, New York in July 2021; a stamped envelope addressed to an attorney who recently

worked on LGBTQ+ related cases and who also published an article on an LGBTQ+ related

court decision, which was found in a garage freezer and contained the remains of a dead bird;

postage stamps; mailing envelopes; and printers.

26. Law enforcement officers also recovered during the FEHRING Residence

Search two loaded shotguns with the safety off; multiple rounds of ammunition, including 86 20-

gauge shotgun shells, 164 12-gauge shotgun shells, 56 22mm cartridges, and 90 9mm rounds;

two stun guns; an American flag patterned machete; and an envelope addressed to FEHRING

containing a DVD titled “Underground Build Your Own Silencer System.”

27. On or about November 18, 2021, ROBERT FEHRING waived his

Miranda rights and was interviewed by federal law enforcement officers. FEHRING stated, in

sum and substance and in part, that he authored certain letters that law enforcement officers

encountered in the investigation and that he stamped the envelopes containing those letters with

the Confidential Stamp to ensure the letters were taken seriously, reached their intended recipient

and were not intercepted by a secretary. He further acknowledged ownership of the recovered