Virginia Man Sentenced to 15 Months for Threatening Ric Grenell Over Kennedy Center Rename Dispute

A Virginia man was sentenced Wednesday to 15 months in prison and three years of supervised release for sending a threatening text message to Ric Grenell, President Trump's special missions envoy and former president of the Kennedy Center. Scott Allen Bolger, 33, sent the message through a Google Voice account two days before Christmas.

" Bolger also called Grenell a "coward" during a phone call that night.

Grenell told the court he received up to 30 calls from an anonymous number that evening. Government lawyers were unable to trace those calls to Bolger. The Google Voice account was registered with a fake email address.

When one call displayed a number, Grenell reported it to the FBI. " He described Bolger as "unhinged" and said his actions crossed the line. " A lawyer for Bolger said in court documents that Bolger loved the Kennedy Center and became "extremely upset" when the board led by Grenell voted to rename it "The Donald J.

Trump and the John F. " In May, a judge ruled that Mr. Trump's name must be removed from the center and blocked plans to close it during renovations. Bolger apologized to Grenell and his family in court.

He blamed Democrats and media outlets including MS Now, the Daily Beast and Huffington Post for fueling political violence. "The left violence is growing in this country," he said. " A December study by the Center for Strategic and International Studies identified an increase in left-wing terrorism attacks.

The study said the rise was from very low levels and remains much lower than historical levels of violence carried out by right-wing and jihadist attackers. It found that 2025 marked the first time in more than 30 years that left-wing terrorist attacks outnumber those from the violent far right.