SC Proud Boy inmate accused of threatening federal officials pleads not guilty

A 33-year-old state prison inmate who is a follower of the Proud Boys white nationalist group pleaded not guilty Thursday in federal court in Columbia to charges he threatened to kill President Joe Biden and various other federal officials.

Eric Rome, an inmate at Columbia’s Kirkland Correctional Institution serving time for armed robbery, appeared before Magistrate Judge David Cayer of the Western District of North Carolina.

Cayer, based in Charlotte, is handling Rome’s initial court appearances to avoid a conflict, since the federal officials Rome is alleged to have threatened to kill include various South Carolina federal judges and magistrate judges.

In his appearance, the heavily tattooed Rome was chained hand and foot and accompanied by five burly prison security officers in SWAT attire. When he left the courtroom, one guard attached a leash to a fastener on his backside and walked closely behind him with the other guards.

Rome, who is accused of signing off one threat with former President Trump’s slogan “Make America Great Again,” had made threats on an internal prison voice mail system meant for inmate complaints and also by the U.S. mail, according to an indictment.

Besides threatening Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris by name, Rome is accused of threatening current federal Judge Joe Anderson. An indictment of Rome alleges he said “we” — the Proud Boys and the Aryan Brotherhood — require Anderson “to vacate the bench immediately; otherwise we will execute the old man and post videos of his death on as many web platforms as we can.”

Rome’s alleged threats began in 2020 and continued into the spring of this year, according to an indictment in the case.

Federal public defender Casey Riddle represented Rome. Assistant U.S. attorney Winston Holliday is prosecuting the case.

Rome is scheduled for release from prison on the armed robbery and other charges in 2030.

The eight federal charges against him each carry a sentence of five or 10 years maximum.

The next steps are for a judge to set a pre-trial conference between the prosecution and defense and for Rome to decide whether he will plead guilty or seek a trial.

This story was originally published May 12, 2022 at 4:58 PM.