NASHVILLE, Tenn. (WTVF) — A man associated with a hate group has been federally charged after threatening to lynch and kill Nashville DA Glenn Funk.
David Aaron Bloyed, 59, was charged in Texas. The FBI and the Metro Nashville Police Department are investigating the case.
This came after members of the Goyim Defense League — an anti-Semitic hate group — came to Nashville this summer to protest for several days. During one of the days they were in Nashville, one of the members of the group was arrested after a hitting man with a metal flagpole with a swastika attached.
“In a functioning democracy, we simply cannot tolerate threats of violence against elected officials,” said United States Attorney Henry C. Leventis. "The charges announced today are just the latest illustration of the Department’s commitment to protecting public servants and upholding the rule of law."
While in Nashville, GDL members routinely posted about their activities on various social media platforms, including Telegram.
Following the arrest of the GDL member, a Telegram user associated with GDL posted threats against DA Funk that included a photograph of DA Funk with the caption, “Getting the rope,” and an emoji finger pointed towards Funk’s image.
The posts also included a photograph of a person hanging by the neck from a gallows with the phrases: “The ‘Rope List’ grew by a few more Nashville jews today,” and “Will you survive the day of the rope?”
Law enforcement subsequently identified another social media account with an almost identical username, belonging to Bloyed, and contained threats nearly identical to those posted on the Telegram account.
If convicted, Bloyed faces up to five years in federal prison.
Do you have more information about this story? You can email me emily.west@newschannel5.com.
I LOVE Forrest's stories on the history of NewsChannel 5 as we celebrate our 70th anniversary. Here's a story I wasn't familiar with until recently. Eudora Boxley had a live cooking show in the early days of the station. She may have been the first black on air at NewsChannel 5 and perhaps, one of the first African Americans to have a TV cooking show anywhere in the country. It wasn't until her grandson reached out to me that I even heard of Ms. Boxley. Thankfully, I was able to connect him with Forest to learn more about this great nugget in NewsChannel 5 history.
-Lelan Statom
