William Braddock, 41, [R-Fla], is charged for threatening to call his ‘Russian-Ukrainian hit squad’ to kill GOP political rival

Braddock was caught on tape saying that if it looked like rival Anna Paulina Luna was going to win the primary for Florida’s 13th District Congressional seat, he would ‘take her out’

Braddock is heard describing his fast rising political opponent as a ‘dead squirrel you run over every day,’ in secret recording

Soon after that making the threat, Braddock dropped out of the race, fleeing US, while Luna went on to win the GOP primary

Braddock later found to be living in the Philippines was recently deported to US

Making an initial court appearance in Los Angeles on Thursday, Braddock is facing up to five years in prison, if convicted

William Braddock, [photo], a Florida Republican who contested the primaries for Congress in 2021, has been indicted on federal charges after recording exposed him threatening to kill his political rival, Anna Luna, with Ukrainian and Russian hit squads, if polls showed she would likely win

An ex-Florida Republican candidate for Congress has been indicted on federal charges after a recording exposed him for threatening to kill a GOP rival with Ukrainian and Russian hit squads.
William Braddock, 41, was caught on tape saying that if it looked like rival Anna Paulina Luna was going to win the GOP primary for the 13th District Congressional seat – which she eventually did – he would take her out. 
The Justice Department unsealed an indictment against 41-year-old William Robert Braddock III of St Petersburg, Florida on Thursday, alleging that on 8 June 2021 he made multiple threats to hurt and kill Anna Luna – identified as Victim 1 in the indictment – in a phone call with another individual, Victim 2.
Braddock and Luna were candidates in the 2021 Republican primary election in Florida’s 13th congressional district. Victim 2 was identified as a private citizen and acquaintance of Luna.

‘And if the poll says Luna’s gonna win, she’s gonna be gone. She’s gonna disappear,’ Braddock was caught on tape threatening to assassinate fellow GOP politician Anna Luna [photo], if his internal polls showed that would win the GOP primary for the 13th District Congressional seat

In n 2021, Luna filed a lawsuit in a Florida court alleging that Braddock was stalking her and had threatened to hurt her. According to the indictment, Braddock allegedly threatened to ‘call up my Russian-Ukrainian hit squad’ and make his primary opponent ‘disappear.’ 
When Luna alerted authorities she mentioned a plot she got to know about through submitted conservative whistleblower, Erin Olszewski, who also filed an injunction against Braddock. 
Olszewski gave media outlet Politico a recording of a phone conversation she had with Braddock during which he allegedly, made the threats. 

Braddock is heard rambling about having access to alleged assassins. That he would get help from fellow Freemasons to finance the plot and also import millions from Malta and Gibraltar.   
On the recorded call Olszewski asked Braddock for details on the alleged plot. 
‘I call up my Russian and Ukrainian hit squad and within 24 hours, they’re sending me pictures of her disappearing,’ he said.
‘No, I’m not joking. Like, this is beyond my control [at] this point.’ 
When Olszewski asked if the killers were snipers, Braddock responds that these were, ‘Russian mafia. Close-battle combat, Tech 9s, Mack 10s, silencers kind of thing. No snipers. Up close and personal. So they know that the target has gone.’   

William Braddock fled to the Philippines in 2021, but was later taken into custody by authorities

Soon after the brouhaha of the recording made headlines, Braddock dropped out of the race and fled the United States. He later was found to be living in the Philippines, according to the indictment. 
Recently repatriated to US, Braddock made an initial court appearance on Thursday in Los Angeles. 
Newspaper reports in Florida at the time about a related civil trial described alleged threats by Braddock against Luna.
‘I really don’t want to have to end anybody’s life for the good of the people of the United States of America,’ Braddock said in a conversation in 2021. 
‘That will break my heart. But if it needs to be done, it needs to be done. Luna is a f**king speed bump in the road. She’s a dead squirrel you run over every day when you leave the neighborhood.’
Braddock said his ‘polling people’ were going to charge him $20,000 to do a poll before the GOP primary. 
‘And if the poll says Luna’s gonna win, she’s gonna be gone. She’s gonna disappear,’ he said in the recording. ‘For the good of our country, we have to sacrifice the few … For the better or the good of the majority of the people, we’ve got to sacrifice the few.’   
Back in 2021 that Luna, who ran for the seat in 2020 and lost to Democratic Rep. Charlie Crist, had filed a stalking injunction against Braddock: ‘I received information yesterday (at midnight) regarding a plan (with a timeline) to murder me made by William Braddock in an effort to prevent me from winning the election for FL-13,’ Luna wrote in the petition. 

Back in June 2021 Luna [photo] had filed a stalking injunction against her her opponent in the FL-13 primary, William Braddock. Court docs in a related civil trial described alleged threats by Braddock against Luna 

Luna accused Matt Tito [left], who ran for the Florida statehouse in 2020 and might run against her in the GOP primary in 2022, as well as Amanda Makki [right], who she beat in the 2020 GOP primary, as plotting alongside rival William Braddock to ‘take her out’

In the document she also accused her 2020 primary rival Amanda Makki and Matt Tito, who’s thinking about jumping in the 2022, of being involved in a plot to ‘take her out.’ 
Conservative COVID-19 whistleblower, Erin Olszewski, also filed an injunction against Braddock. Infact, Olszewski gave Politico a recording of a phone conversation she had with Braddock where she alleged, he made the threats.
Braddock is heard rambling on about his access to alleged assassins. That he would enlist help from fellow Freemasons to finance the plot. Also that they would import millions from Malta and Gibraltar.  
‘I have access to a hit squad too, Ukrainians and Russians,’ he said, warning Olszewski, ‘don’t get caught out in public supporting Luna … Luna’s gonna go down and I hope it’s by herself.’ 
After the threat was made public Braddock who refused to answer directly to media queries about the alleged threats responded: ‘it was allegedly me … there is no proof to that,’ adding that the recording ‘may even be altered and edited.’ 

Anna Paulina Luna who won the FL-13 primary, received the support of former President Donald Trump for her 2020 House bid. She appeared at a Make America Great Again rally in Tampa days before the election. Her erstwhile opponent, Braddock, had fled US 

‘This is a dirty political tactic that has caused a lot of people a lot of stress and is completely unnecessary,’ he said.  
Olszewski denied manipulating the recording and said she recorded him because of his ‘unhinged’ dislike for Luna, who had been backed in the last election cycle by US Rep. Matt Gaetz and former President Donald Trump. 
Olszewski turned the June 9 recording over to St. Petersburg police and informed Luna about it, who then filed the stalking injunction against Braddock. 
If convicted, Braddock faces a maximum penalty of five years in prison, according to the Justice Department.