Connecticut man accused of threatening government officials online

HARTFORD, Conn. (WLNE) — A Connecticut man accused of harassing government officials online last year turned himself in to state police in Hartford on Wednesday.

According to a police report, state police were reported of threatening online messages targeting Gov. Ned Lamont and Sen. Chris Murphy last May.

They said an Instagram user with the handle “t0psecretalien” posted a message tagging Lamont and Murphy saying in part “you are DEAD!”

Police ordered an emergency information request the account and traced the associated email address to Sean Palla of Manchester.

Troopers spoke with Palla, 36, soon after. He confirmed the account was his and that he had not been hacked.

“Palla admitted to posting the aforementioned comment and did so in an attempt to get the attention of public figures,” police said in the report.

When asked what he meant by his comment, Palla told police that he thinks Lamont is “brain dead” and “had no idea what’s happening” in the state of Connecticut.

He said he did not mean to imply that he wanted to harm Lamont or Murphy.

Palla turned himself in to state police in Hartford on Wednesday. He was charged with second degree harassment.

The report says he has no known weapons registered to him.

Palla is set to be arraigned in Hartford Superior Court on July 14.