A troubled military veteran stalked a former FBI official at his home in Washington last year — despite a documented obsession with firearms and mass shootings, the FBI said he posed no imminent threat. Investigators said just weeks after the bureau determined there was no such thing.
John C. Perez, 32, a former Marine who lives in California, pleaded guilty Thursday to a misdemeanor federal stalking charge as part of a plea deal that prohibits him from visiting the Washington area for the next six months. Attend 6 therapy sessions.
Lisa Page, a former FBI lawyer who has been a persistent target of President Donald J. Trump since her text messages were made public in 2017, attended Perez's hearing in the District of Columbia Superior Court. attended. She asked the judge for stricter restrictions and accused authorities of failing to warn about the potential threat posed by Perez.
In mid-December, Perez showed up at Page's home in Washington at least four times and claimed to have witnessed Page's childhood sexual abuse, even though the two had never met, according to a warrant issued by authorities. He made a strange claim. Metropolitan Police Department. During one visit, he interacted with Page's 11-year-old son.
“The FBI has known about his obsession with me since September, but they never said anything,” Page said, standing 3 feet away from Mr. Perez, expressionless. He said, his voice thick with emotion. “Three months later, he was on my doorstep.”
A spokesperson for the department did not respond to a request for comment.
Mr. Page, who worked at the FBI on investigations into Hillary Clinton's use of a private email server while she was secretary of state and possible ties between Russia and the Trump campaign, had an affair with another bureau official who was running for office. He criticized Trump in a text exchange. .
She resigned in May 2018 and became a target of Trump and his supporters. They claimed to be representatives of a “deep state” cabal bent on destroying Mr. Trump.
On Thursday, she told the court she had endured “five years of intimidation by the former president and his followers,” but nothing had shaken her as deeply as “this event.”
Her emotional appeal echoes the rumpled voices of public defenders, clerks and people accused of minor crimes in crowded courtrooms, where plea deals and bench warrants are typically served without fuss or fanfare. summoned a gathering.
Judge Robert I. Richter, one of the longest-serving jurists on the federal bench, tenderly expressed sympathy for Mr. Page, but declined to change the contract because the defendant had no criminal record. I didn't order it. record.
“I don’t know if I disagree with you,” he said. “But it's hard to find a better option. We can't keep him away forever.”
Judge Richter then turned to Mr. Perez. Mr. Perez is a slim man in strict military uniform, with a razor-shaven head and a white dress shirt buttoned to the top. He warned Mr Page to “stop this nonsense” and said he would face long prison terms if he continued to stalk Mr Page or otherwise violate the law.
“We will cooperate,” Perez promised.
Prosecutors say Perez became obsessed with Page after seeing her on the news last December and traveled across the border solely to confront her.
Court documents do not suggest Mr. Perez was politically motivated, but rather that he believed Mr. Perez was the only person who could give him “closure” in his life.
According to the arrest warrant, the Marines released Mr. Perez in May 2023 after he made a series of bizarre statements about Ms. Page that tests showed were symptoms of severe delusional disorder. .
Military investigators noted his “erratic behavior,” his desire to obtain weapons, his “obsession with mass shootings,” his obsession with child sexual abuse, and his possible involvement. He was barred from Camp Lejeune, North Carolina, where he was stationed. in workplace violence.
Around that time, the Marines passed the information on to the FBI. According to his affidavit, Mr. Perez repeated his delusional claims during a meeting with his attorney.
But they took no action and did not notify Ms Page, she told the court, noting that she had exercised her right as a crime victim to comment before sentencing.
In February, Metropolitan Police Department detectives successfully sought an arrest warrant for Perez, citing his “persistent and increasingly aggressive behavior.”
He complied and voluntarily returned to Washington.