Luray man pleads guilty to cyberstalking Army recruiter

(Harrisonburg, VA – December 20, 2021) A Luray, Virginia man pleaded guilty today to cyberstalking a female Army recruiter after being upset about failing his Army entrance examination.

According to court documents, Braxton Louis Danley, 26, contacted the victim, an army recruiter in Harrisonburg, Virginia, via email in February 2018 expressing his interest in joining the United States Army. In March 2018, Danley arrived at the victim’s recruiting station in Harrisonburg to take the required entrance exam. When Danley was unable to obtain a passing score, the victim and other recruiters instructed Danley to continue studying and to retake the test at a later date.

In April 2018, Danley called the victim multiple times on both her Army-issued cell phone and the recruiting station general telephone to inquire about re-taking the entrance exam. Each time, Danley was asked if he had studied for the test – which he admitted that he had not – and was advised that he would only be permitted to re-take the test after he had studied.

On May 14, 2018, Danley sent an email to the victim’s official Army email address stating, “I remember everything you [expletive] done to me so time to settle the score.” (sic). On the same date, Danley called the recruiting station and told another recruiter he was angry and that he (Danley) needed to be arrested. In light of the email threat and phone call, the victim obtained a “no trespassing” notice and posted it at the recruiting station.

For the next few months, Danley continued to send the victim harassing texts. Eventually, the victim obtained a state Preliminary Order of Protection (PPO) against Danley.

On December 23, 2018, Danley posted a message on Facebook directed at the victim and two other Army recruiters that read, in part, “your lieing fu**ed up my life . lock and load fu**ers ima at your doorstep now .”(sic) A week later, Danley was arrested for violation of the state PPO and was convicted and sentenced to 12-months’ incarceration. He was released in June 2019.

Within a couple of months of his release, Danley again posted threats against the victim on Facebook. Finally, in January 2020, Danley posted a message on Facebook that read “24 im getin locked remember j rj this is to. you im coming to get you.”(sic) Along with the message, Danley posted a link to a YouTube video that depicted, through images and lyrics, a violent home invasion and murder of the family residing in the home.

Danley pleaded guilty today to cyberstalking and is scheduled to be sentenced on February 1, 2022, where he faces a sentence of up to five years in prison. A federal district court judge will determine the sentence after considering the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.

The Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Harrisonburg Police Department investigated the case.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Ronald M. Huber is prosecuting the case.