A Long Island man who is serving 30 months behind bars for sending anti-LGBTQ threats to LGBTQ organizations and individuals was recently denied a request for early release.
Robert Fehring, who became embroiled in legal trouble after spending years menacing the LGBTQ community, said he suffered a heart attack in February and his attorney said living in prison after a heart attack amounts to a death sentence. Prosecutors, meanwhile, stated that many inmates have heart attacks and it is not a get out of jail free card, according to News 12 Long Island.
Fehring, who lives in Bayport, sought release under the First Step Act. Federal Judge Joanna Seybert of the Eastern District of New York heard from five of Fehring’s victims and ultimately rejected his request for early release from federal prison in Fort Dix, New Jersey. Fehring was originally sentenced to 30 months behind bars.
Fehring threatened to blow up the Stonewall Inn, plant explosives at the 2021 NYC Pride March, and attack businesses and organizations such as the LGBT Network of Long Island and Queens, according to authorities.
“As you f****** scum are preparing to waltz your fruity, freaky, f***** asses down the NY parade lanes, we warn you that there will be radio-controlled devices placed at numerous strategic places, and firepower aimed at you from other strategic places,” Fehring said in a letter to Heritage of Pride.
Several of Fehring’s victims came forward to the judge explaining why he should remain in prison for the full sentence, citing their trauma and safety concerns.
David Kilmnick, president of the LGBT Network of Queens and Long Island, told Pix11 that Fehring sent him threatening letters for almost 10 years.
“[Fehring] said he wanted to eliminate me. He wanted to eliminate me. He knew where I lived, and he was going to come get me at my house, and I had my mom living with us, my husband living with us,” Kilmnick said.
Fehring was charged, originally, for sending around 60 letters, which he admitted to stamping as confidential in order to ensure their delivery. Many of the victims received such threats repeatedly, including Eileen Tyzner of Sayville, who was stalked for four years and received violent letters, according to Pix11.
“I’m still in prison,” Tyzner said, according to News12 Long Island. “I’m imprisoned by what this man did to me and my family and to the other victims. So he should have to feel that imprisonment himself for the full term.”
When Fehring was arrested, police discovered two loaded shotguns, several rounds of ammunition, a machete dressed up in the colors of the American Flag, and a DVD titled “Underground Build Your Own Silencer System.”
