Through Maria plays
October 11, 2025
Authorities say the suspect sent violent, racist emails to Mayor Lee and other officials.
A 45-year-old El Cerrito man has been charged with multiple hate crimes after he allegedly sent a series of racist and violent threats to Oakland Mayor Barbara Lee, according to the Alameda County District Attorney’s Office. The suspect, identified as David Pokorny, was charged with threatening a government official and committing a hate crime. He is currently held in Santa Rita Jail in Dublin, California, with bail set at $70,000.
Authorities said members of Mayor Lee’s staff contacted police after discovering several disturbing emails filled with explicit racial slurs and violent threats. The messages were sent from an unknown Google account.
The first email was sent to Lee on September 7, but it wasn’t until September 22 that an employee noticed the alarming messages while searching the mayor’s inbox. The emails contained racist language and explicit threats to harm the mayor and others.
One message read in part: “I want it all [N-word] killed in Oakland. It is an unhealthy plague. If you have the [expletive] alive, then I want you killed too. I think we should kill all the government officials in Oakland, and all the police officers and judges in Oakland.”
Another email, sent on September 21, escalated the threat to Lee: “You are a psychopath, and I am going to torture and kill you.”
Mayor Lee and her staff immediately reported the threats, calling them credible and deeply concerning. An investigation quickly led authorities to Pokorny, who was arrested and formally charged this week.
Mayor Lee’s case comes amid an increase in threats and violence against government officials in the United States. Facts collected from Princeton University shows an increase in politically motivated intimidation and violence against lawmakers, judges and local leaders.
Earlier this year, a Minnesota lawmaker was killed and another injured in an attack carried out by a man posing as a police officer. Investigators later discovered writings with dozens of Democratic politicians the suspect allegedly wanted to target.
Pokorny’s arrest underlines growing concerns about the safety of elected leaders, especially against the backdrop of heightened political tensions and online extremism.
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