A Carbondale man has pleaded guilty in federal court to making a false threat to blow up a military recruiting center.
In June, 42-year-old George Rita II sent an anonymous message to an FBI tip line in West Virginia. Rita claimed he was heading to a recruiting center to blow it up and that no one could stop him.
No specific recruitment center was named Rita’s message, but the FBI was able to determine that the message had come from Southern Illinois and then tracked the message to an internet address assigned to Rita’s Carbondale apartment, which sat not far from the Carbondale recruiting center.
Sentencing is scheduled for December 27, 2018. He faces up to five years in prison and a $250,000 fine.