RIDGELAND, Miss. (WLBT) – A Ridgeland man pleaded guilty to making threats against the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Director Rochelle Walensky.
Court documents say 39-year-old Robert Wiser Bates placed phone calls to the CDC in Atlanta, Georgia, and left voicemails for the director that were “threatening in nature” in July of 2021.
Bates admitted to agents from the Federal Bureau of Investigation that he made threatening phone calls and stated that he would also kill Dr. Anthony Fauci.
A federal district judge will determine any sentence after considering the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors. Bates is scheduled to be sentenced on March 7, 2023, and faces a maximum penalty of five years in prison and a $250,000 fine.
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