Judge sentences Florida dentist accused of ‘campaign of terror’

TAMPA, Fla. – A federal judge sentenced a Florida dentist to two years in prison with credit for time served after his arrest in June.

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FBI agents reported Richard Kantwill sent more than 100 threats to 40 victims in retaliation to their political commentary.

Kantwill, 61, wrote the threats of injury and death even after FBI special agents intervened and asked him to stop.

Attorney General Merrick B. Garland referred to Kantwill’s messages as an “almost year-long campaign of terror.”

Kantwill, who was born in Chicago, served as a U.S. Army combat field medic during the Gulf War and practiced dentistry in Tampa.

Kantwill’s attorneys claimed he lived with untreated post-traumatic stress disorder and alcoholism.

In November, Kantwill pleaded guilty to four counts of interstate transmission of a threat.

Prosecutors said Kantwill’s victims included an election official in another state, an author, a TV personality, and a religious leader.

On Tuesday, U.S. District Judge Mary Scriven sentenced Kantwill to two years in prison with credit for time served.

Kantwill has been in jail without bond for about eight months. He will be paroled for three years and will have to pay a $10,000 fine and get treatment for mental health and substance abuse.