Scott Robert Tardy, a 31-year-old from Holyoke, Massachusetts, has entered a guilty plea to charges of cyberstalking, making false statements to the FBI, and obstructing justice. The case involves a scheme targeting a federal law enforcement agent based in South Carolina and the agent’s family.
Court evidence revealed that in February, Tardy used the username “connecticut12345” on Kik to join an anti-law enforcement chat group. Within this group, he posted multiple messages discussing violence against a specific agent and the agent’s spouse. He identified their employment as a reason for targeting them and shared photos of the spouse along with their city and state.
Tardy’s discussions included violent intentions such as throwing a Molotov cocktail into the victims’ bedroom. He suggested moving conversations to Telegram under the username “slimybanana,” considering it more secure. On Telegram, Tardy further discussed harm against the victims and shared their home location via map pin drop.
When FBI agents searched Tardy’s apartment on February 16th, he falsely denied using Kik or Telegram and denied involvement in sending threatening messages. He also made false statements during an interview with investigators and had his phone reset before exchanging it for a new one with Apple.
Despite these actions, investigators recovered evidence linking him to the threats. Data confirmed that Tardy controlled both accounts used in his scheme while working as a corrections officer at a Connecticut detention facility.
Tardy could face up to 20 years in prison, along with fines up to $250,000 and five years of supervised release post-imprisonment. United States District Judge Joseph F. Anderson Jr. accepted his guilty plea but will determine sentencing after reviewing reports from the U.S. Probation Office.
The investigation was led by the FBI Columbia field office with assistance from FBI Boston field office. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Elliott B. Daniels and Elle E. Klein are handling prosecution duties for this case.
