A federal jury has convicted David Aaron Bloyed, 60, of Frost, Texas, on one count of communicating a threat in interstate commerce after he issued violent online threats to lynch and kill Glenn Funk, the elected District Attorney General of Nashville and Davidson County, Tennessee.
The conviction follows a July 2024 incident in which members of the antisemitic Goyim Defense League (GDL) staged a protest in downtown Nashville, displaying Nazi flags and shouting antisemitic slurs. After a GDL member was arrested for assaulting a local bar employee with a metal flagpole, social media accounts affiliated with the group posted violent threats directed at DA Funk.
One post included Funk’s photo with the phrase “Getting the rope” and an emoji pointing at his face. Another image showed a person hanging by the neck with accompanying text referencing a so-called “Rope List” and containing antisemitic slurs.
Investigators traced nearly identical threats to a separate account controlled by Bloyed, confirming his authorship. He was charged under federal law for issuing threats across state lines, a violation of the U.S. Code pertaining to interstate communications.
“Antisemitic hate has no place in Nashville or anywhere,” said Acting U.S. Attorney Robert E. McGuire, adding that the threats were “a crime” and a direct danger to public officials and the broader Jewish community.
Key points
- David Bloyed was convicted of threatening to lynch Nashville DA Glenn Funk in online antisemitic posts.
- The threats followed a Goyim Defense League protest in Nashville in July 2024.
- Bloyed faces up to five years in federal prison at sentencing.
Investigation linked threats to hate group activity
The FBI and the Justice Department’s National Security Division led the investigation alongside local law enforcement. Officials said the posts targeted Funk in retaliation for the prosecution of a GDL member involved in the downtown altercation. Authorities identified Bloyed as the author through matching usernames and threat content.
“This criminal behavior and these disgusting threats will not be tolerated,” said David J. Scott of the FBI’s Counterterrorism Division. Prosecutors emphasized that threats against public officials and hate-motivated intimidation efforts would continue to be prosecuted to the full extent of the law.
The sentencing date has not yet been scheduled. Bloyed faces a maximum sentence of five years in federal prison.
