SCRANTON — This is an official press release from the U.S. Department of Justice (USAO - Pennsylvania, Middle), published as received.

SCRANTON - The United States Attorney’s Office for the Middle District of Pennsylvania announced that Anthony Elonis, age 39, of Bethlehem, Pennsylvania, was convicted on August 5, 2022, of three counts of cyberstalking after a five-day trial in Easton before U.S. District Court Judge Edward G. Smith.

According to United States Attorney Gerard M. Karam, jurors deliberated for approximately an hour and a half before rendering a guilty verdict.  Elonis was indicted by a grand jury in Philadelphia in July 2021 and charged with three counts of cyberstalking involving three separate victims, including a government employee in the Eastern District of Pennsylvania, Elonis’ former girlfriend, and Elonis’ ex-wife.  The indictment alleged that between 2018 and 2021, Elonis send numerous harassing and intimidating emails directly to the governmental employee and sent or posted numerous harassing and intimidating communications via Twitter, text message or other form of electronic communication regarding the governmental employee, his former girlfriend and his ex-wife.

Sentencing has been scheduled for November 18, 2022, in Easton.  The matter has been specially assigned to the United States Attorney’s Office in the Middle District of Pennsylvania for prosecution.

The charges resulted from an investigation conducted by the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Allentown Office. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Robert O’Hara and Geoffrey MacArthur prosecuted the case.

Under federal law, Counts One and Three of the Indictment, involving a government employee and Elonis’ ex-wife as victims, each carry a maximum penalty of up to five years in prison, a term of supervised release following imprisonment, and a fine. Count Two, involving Elonis’ former girlfriend as a victim, carries a maximum penalty of up to ten years in prison because the offense of cyberstalking was committed in violation of a Protection from Abuse Order (PFA) previously issued against Elonis in Northampton County. A sentence following a finding of guilt is imposed by the Judge after consideration of the applicable federal sentencing statutes and the Federal Sentencing Guidelines.

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