Lee prisoner convicted of threatening president

A 24-year-old man who is a prisoner at Lee Correctional Institution in Bishopville has been convicted of threatening the president by mail, U.S. Attorney W. Walter Wilkins announced Tuesday.

Senior U.S. District Judge Matthew J. Perry Jr. in Columbia presided over the trial and is expected to sentence Unula Boo Shawn Abebe in January.

Evidence presented at trial established that Abebe wrote two letters, on Jan. 18 and Jan. 28, threatening the president. In the first letter, sent to the White House, Abebe wrote that he had a team of "highly trained sniper's ... ready to kill you." In the second letter, sent to the U.S. District Court in Columbia, he wrote that he was "going to start bringing physical death upon all your citizens and this threat includes your presidents of the U.S.A."

Abebe faces a fine of up to $250,000 and five years in prison.