Chicago Man Convicted of Threatening Violence at Women’s Reproductive Clinic

CHICAGO — A Chicago man has been convicted in federal court of threatening to commit violence at a women’s reproductive health clinic.

A jury in U.S. District in Chicago on Wednesday convicted FARHAN SHEIKH, 23, of transmitting a threat in interstate commerce.  The conviction is punishable by a maximum sentence of five years in federal prison.  U.S. District Judge Mary M. Rowland did not immediately set a sentencing date.

The conviction was announced by Morris Pasqual, Acting United States Attorney for the Northern District of Illinois, and Robert W. “Wes” Wheeler, Jr., Special Agent-in-Charge of the Chicago Field Office of the FBI.  Valuable assistance was provided by the U.S. Marshals Service and the Chicago Police Department.  The government is represented by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Aaron R. Bond and Melody Wells.

Evidence at trial revealed that Sheikh posted the threatening communications on Aug. 13, 2019, on the social media platform iFunny.  In one of his posts, Sheikh stated, “I am done with my state and thier (sic) [expletive] abortion laws and allowing innocrnt (sic) kids to be slaughtered for the so called ‘womans right’ [expletive].”  Sheikh later wrote that he would visit a clinic in Chicago and “proceed to slaughter and murder any doctor, patient, or visitor I see in the area and I will not back down.”

In posts that immediately followed the threats, Sheikh described his anger at law enforcement and his frustration over the arrest of another individual for making threats online.  Sheikh referred to the other arrest as “surpressing [sic] our freedoms,” and he vowed to “do the same” to “whores.”