Maryland man pleads guilty to hate crime for threatening to 'slaughter' LGBTQ+ people after Covenant School shooting

WASHINGTON — A Maryland man who threatened to “slaughter” members of the LGBTQ+ community following the mass shooting at a Christian school in Tennessee earlier this year pleaded guilty Wednesday to committing a federal hate crime.

According to a plea agreement filed in the District of Maryland Wednesday, Adam Michael Nettina, 34, of West Friendship, pleaded guilty to one felony count of transmitting threats by interstate communication. Nettina also agreed he chose his victims “because of actual or perceived gender, sexual orientation or gender identity” and that a sentencing enhancement for hate crime motivation should apply.

Nettina was charged in April with leaving a threatening voice mail at the D.C. office of the Human Rights Campaign, the largest LGBTQ+ civil rights organization in the United States. The call came just one day after six people, including three children, were killed in a shooting at The Covenant School – a private Christian school in Nashville, Tennessee. Metropolitan Nashville Police said the shooter, who was also killed, had been receiving treatment for an emotional disorder and had recently begun identifying as a trans man.

In the voicemail, Nettina referenced the Covenant School shooting and repeatedly threatened violence.

“You guys going to shoot up our schools now? Is that how it’s going to be? You just gonna kill little kids?” Nettina reportedly said. “Let me tell you something, we’re waiting, we’re waiting. And if you want a war, we’ll have a war. And we’ll f---ing slaughter you back. We’ll cut your throats. We’ll put a bullet in your head. We’re not going to give a f---. You started this bulls---. You’re going to kill us? We’re going to kill you ten times more in full.”

In addition to the call for which he was charged, federal prosecutors said Nettina admitted to send messages to Maryland and Virginia state delegates in two prior incidents. According to a statement released by the Justice Department, in October 2022 Nettina emailed a Virginia state delegate who had advocated for the prevention of abuse toward transgender children, writing, “You are a terrorist. You deserve to be shot and hung in the streets. You want to come after people? Let’s go b***.”

In another message, sent to a Maryland state delegate who had posted support for the transgender community, the DOJ said Nettina wrote, “Better watch out[.] Baby killing terrorist. Enjoy hell[.] You’re going sooner than you think.”

“The defendant in this case attempted to terrorize the LGBTQI+ community by calling in multiple threats of violence to a local advocacy group,” said FBI Assistant Director Luis Quesada in a written statement Wednesday.

Nettina briefly attended Catholic University in D.C. before receiving a bachelor’s degree in history at Utah State University and a master’s degree in English from Abilene Christian University in Texas. According to his LinkedIn page, he formerly worked for a Virginia firm as a campaign copywriter with clients that included “House Freedom Caucus members and leading Republican challengers in targeted races.”

Prior to his arrest, Nettina had also published multiple articles as an independent contractor for CatholicVote, an Indiana-based 501(c)(4) organization that bills itself as a “community of patriotic Americans who believe that the timeless truth of the Catholic faith are good for America.” Nettina’s articles for CatholicVote included a June 2016 piece in response to the fatal shooting of 49 people at the Pulse nightclub in Orlando titled “We Have Nothing to Apologize For.” CatholicVote removed Nettina’s articles from its website in April after WUSA9 reached out for comment. The organization also issued a statement saying it has “zero tolerance for threats of violence from any employee or independent contractor.”

U.S. District Judge George L. Russell III scheduled Nettina’s sentencing hearing for Nov. 3 at 9:30 a.m. in the U.S. District Court for the District of Maryland in Baltimore. Transmitting interstate threats carries a maximum sentence of up to five years in prison.