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Man banned from Twitter after threats to 2 US senators

ALEXANDRIA, Va. – A federal judge has barred a Virginia man from using Twitter after he was charged with tweeting threats to two U.S. senators.

News media outlets cite a federal complaint as saying that 27-year-old Kyler Schmitz of Alexandria tweeted to one of the senators, “I’m going to shoot you in the head for allowing someone to murder my loved ones.” The tweets were sent in the days immediately following the June 12 shooting at a gay nightclub in Orlando that left 49 dead and 53 injured.

The judge banned Schmitz from using Twitter as a condition of his release on bond.

WRC-TV first reported Schmitz’s arrest. His fiance, Paul Cianciolo, told the station the tweets were satirical, not serious threats.

The Washington Post said Schmitz’s attorney declined to comment.

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