Former Florida congressional candidate sentenced to prison for threatening to kill Anna Paulina Luna

A former GOP Florida congressional candidate has been sentenced to prison for threatening to kill then-GOP primary rival Anna Paulina Luna – the party frontrunner, then eventual winner of the state's 13th Congressional District seat.

The former candidate, William Robert Braddock, III, 41, of St. Petersburg, was sentenced on Wednesday to three years in prison after pleading guilty to interstate transmission of threat to injure, according to the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Middle District of Florida.

Braddock, who didn't make it onto the 2022 GOP primary ballot, viewed Luna as his only obstacle to winning the congressional race. He attempted to insert himself into Luna's life and disparaged her with her peers.

During a phone call in June 2021 with a private citizen and acquaintance of Luna, Braddock threatened to have her murdered if she continued polling well in the race.

He said he would “call up my Russian-Ukrainian hit squad” and make Luna “disappear.”

"I will be the next congressman for this District. Period. End of discussion," Braddock said. "And anybody going up against me is f---ing ignorant for doing so."

He also said Luna is "ignorant so I don’t have a problem taking her out, but I’m not going to do that dirty work myself obviously."

Braddock flew to Thailand in Nov. 2021 on a one-way ticket, then settled in the area of Santa Rosa, Laguna, Philippines, where he remained until he self-surrendered to authorities in Manila in June 2023. He remained in custody there until he was transported to the U.S. in Sept. 2024.