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At the detention hearing for the Follansbee man accused of threatening jurors and witnesses in the recent Tree of Life mass shooting, U.S. Magistrate Judge James Mazzone determined that Hardy Carroll Lloyd would not be released from Northern Regional Jail prior to his Oct. 31 trial.
Lloyd was arrested on the morning of Aug. 10 on charges related to alleged obstruction and witness tampering in the recent Tree of Life shooting trial in Pittsburgh. Lloyd faces charges of obstruction of due administration of justice, transmitting threats in interstate and foreign commerce and witness tampering.
Mazzone found that First Assistant U.S. Attorney Randolph Bernard and Assistant U.S. Attorney Jarod Douglas, who are prosecuting the case on behalf of the government, were able to provide a "burden of convincing evidence" that Lloyd would be a "danger to the community" if released from jail before trial.
The "convincing evidence" Bernard and Douglas used in the detention hearing came in the form of indirect and direct threats Lloyd made to the community. Mazzone also found Lloyd's criminal history, which includes a conviction involving a firearm and probation violations, as further reasons that the Follansbee man is not eligible for pretrial release.
Mazzone determined that Lloyd was a "flight risk" due to the multiple posts the Follansbee resident made on his website and emails he sent referring to his arrest as a "kidnapping."
Lloyd is accused of making threatening social media posts and owning a website containing threatening comments and emails toward jury members and witnesses in the trial of Robert Bowers. Bowers was convicted of a mass shooting at the Tree of Life Synagogue in Pittsburgh that killed 11 people and wounded six, including several Holocaust survivors.
If convicted, Lloyd could receive five years in prison for the threats charge, 10 years in prison for the obstruction charge and 20 years in prison for the tampering charge.
At the detention hearing on Wednesday, the prosecution highlighted Lloyd's online history as the main reason why Lloyd should not be released before trial.
The evidence for the online history was pulled from an affidavit filed by Matthew Message, a special agent at the Wheeling, West Virginia, FBI Office.
Douglass brought Message to the stand as the prosecution's sole witness. The attorney first questioned the agent about the "ouch email," which was sent by Lloyd to followers of his website along with local Pittsburgh news organizations.
Message described that the "ouch email" contained a screenshot of a woman who was shot in the face during the 2022 Buffalo, New York, grocery store mass shooting.
"In the email, Lloyd says that the woman was a juror in a trial whose information was released, leading her to be targeted in the shooting," explained Message on the email's contents. "Lloyd says in the email that "she should have voted the white way."
Message explained that he then interviewed the woman in the screenshot about the email, which she said "frightened" her and made her "more concerned" for her safety as well as her families.
Audio files from Lloyd's website were then submitted to evidence by Douglass during Message's questioning.
"If cops ever come to my door, I'm shooting through it at them, and whatever happens, happens," said Lloyd in the second audio clip played at the hearing. "I am willing to die for my people."
Douglass also had Matthew identify the items the FBI found when they searched his house, including three black powder revolvers, with one "located beside his bed in a chair," and a "machete-type knife."
Northern Regional Jail records were also pulled by Douglass as evidence, including a message Lloyd sent to his ex-girlfriend on Aug. 12, 2023 telling her "at least you weren't kidnapped by the system."
Lloyd also referenced being "kidnapped" in a message he sent to his friend, William Brown Jr. from jail. Message noted that officers had found that Brown sent "thousands" in bank checks under his name to Lloyd and also had the password to operate Lloyd's website.
The final piece of online activity submitted as evidence by Douglass was another reference Lloyd made to being kidnapped, where he stated in a post that he was "locked up in a vile dungeon at the hands of kidnapping done by vile people."
During the defense's cross-examination of Message, Assistant Federal Public Defender Brendan Leary had the agent confirm that someone would have to go to Lloyd's website to see the "ouch email." He also had Message verify that the local news outlets Lloyd sent the "ouch email" to did not publish or report the items they received.
"The woman did not know about the threats Lloyd was making towards her until Message interviewed her," explained Leary. "A user has to go to his website specifically to see what he is saying.
"If someone doesn't want to expose themselves to what Lloyd is saying, they don't have to."
On why Lloyd used the word "kidnapping" to describe his arrest, Leary said that "most people aren't too happy about being arrested." He explained Lloyd was using the term to describe how he was "wrongly incarcerated."
Leary also questioned Message whether Lloyd made any attempt to "struggle" while they were arresting him, including "reaching for a powder gun or knife." Message confirmed that Lloyd had been compliant during his arrest.
Leary finished his cross-examination by asking Message whether the officer believes that Lloyd's posts and emails on the website were "outrageous and downright offensive" as a way to "try and get others to click on it."
"I do not know the mindset of the person as to make a judgment of this," responded Message.
Douglass noted in his redirect of Leary's questioning that Lloyd had "no knowledge or time to prepare" for the FBI showing up at his house.
"We also do not know who all the people who were on Lloyd's email list or viewed his posts on the website," added Douglass. "We don't know what those people could do in response to his words or who else they sent his emails and posts to."
Douglass finished by stating that the "ink is still fresh" on the threats Lloyd made and that "a threat does not need to be successful to still be a threat."