Online troll wanted to put father of Parkland victim ‘in check,’ Fresno court docs say
Fresno businessman James Catalano, who is accused of cyberstalking the father of a teenager killed in the 2018 Parkland, Fla. mass shooting, allegedly did so because he didn’t like his politics and wanted to put him “in check.”
That’s according to federal court documents which detail conversations Catalano had with law enforcement about allegedly sending more than 200 harassing messages to Fred Guttenberg between Dec. 1, 2021 and July 20.
The 61-year-old Catalano, owner of property management company J-C Markets, is charged with one federal count of cyberstalking.
Guttenberg is an outspoken gun control advocate whose 14-year-old daughter Jaime was one of 17 people shot to death at Marjory Stoneman High School in Parkland.
Guttenberg is also an author, plus founder of a non-profit organization called Orange Ribbons for Gun Safety.
Catalano is accused of sending messages to Guttenberg mocking the death of his daughter and the pain and suffering he has felt.
Many of the messages are loaded with expletives, in addition to being graphic and speaking of violence.
Although Catalano’s attorney Jeffrey Hammerschmidt would not say what sparked Catalano’s interest in Guttenberg, court documents show that when questioned by federal agents, Catalano admitted some of the messages could be viewed as “distressing in nature.”
“Catalano further stated that he believes (Guttenberg) was using his dead daughter to push his political agenda and Catalano did not like that (Guttenberg) was doing that and that Catalano was trying to put (Guttenberg) in check by sending him those messages,” according to court documents.
Hammerschmidt said the case could come down to free speech.
“The alleged conduct which formed the basis for the Complaint was digital communication sent to an individual across the country via a public forum,” Hammerschmidt wrote in a legal brief asking for Catalano’s pre-trial release.
“The alleged messages did not threaten anyone or any action towards anyone. Further, frequenting the same websites and social media pages repeatedly on topics of interest is a common occurrence in our increasingly digital world. It is how most people remain informed on topics important to them.”
Hammerschmidt arranged for Catalano’s to be released from jail, so long as he meet certain conditions, including temporarily giving up his passport.
Catalano must also provide a $250,000 unsecured bond to be replaced by a $100,000 property bond within 40 days. Catalano should be released in the next few days.
Catalano is expected to appear on Friday before the Southern District of Florida, Miami Division where the criminal complaint originated.
Hammerschmidt is helping Catalano find a Miami-based lawyer for the rest of his case. Catalano will make his court appearance via the Zoom app.
A phone call to Catalano’s property management company was not returned Monday. Catalano is listed in state records as the president and chief executive officer of the company.
This story was originally published July 26, 2022 at 5:00 AM.
