A man was sentenced Friday to 37 months in federal prison for sending threatening emails to Dr. Anthony Fauci, the nation's top infectious disease expert.

Thomas Patrick Connally Jr., 56, received a sentence of 37 months in federal prison and three years of supervised release from the US District Court in Maryland. Last year, he was detained by West Virginia law enforcement and accused of threatening a federal officer and communicating a threat of harm across state lines.

Connally acknowledged in his plea deal that he used a Swiss-based encrypted email service to send a string of emails threatening to kill Fauci and his family. The Justice Department reported that the inquiry showed the encrypted email account belonged to Connally.

At the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases in Maryland, Fauci began getting threatening emails in December 2020. The first of these, according to the complaint, had the subject line "Hope you receive a bullet in your compromised satanic skull today."

The complaint said, Connally, sent Fauci seven emails in one day, one of which contained the threat that "You and your entire family will be hauled into the street, beaten to death, and burned on fire."

Connally also sent threatening emails to Dr. Francis Collins, the Ex-director of the National Institutes of Health, and Dr. Rachel Levine, the assistant secretary for health at the US Department of Health and Human Services.

Three dead after lightning strike near White House

Nepal's FM to visit China Amid China, Taiwan tension

Russian move puts Ukrainian nuclear reactor at danger