On November 26, a federal grand jury brought an indictment forth, charging 38-year-old David Ryan Winters with cyberstalking five victims, all of whom belong to the LGBTQ+ community, including openly gay Raleigh City Council member Jonathan Lambert Melton.“When someone is aware of where you live and threatening to come to your home … [and] suggesting I should die … it’s really difficult,” Lambert-Melton told Raleigh’s WRAL-TV news department. “A very difficult experience I don’t wish upon anybody.” He confirmed he had blocked Winters on social media, but Winters has simply created new accounts and continued with his threats.
In the indictment, along with the base accusation, Winters was further accused of “targeting the victims due to their sexual orientation or gender identity.” Out of the five cases, one victim claimed that Winters had originally set his sights on them as early as 2016 and continuing through to this year.
Sources of evidence in this case contain text messages that stand as Winters’ main manner of communicating with the victims. According to a DOJ release, along with the often described “harassing” and “intimidating” messages being sent to the victims, people close to each were also targeted occasionally.
If convicted on all counts, Winters faces a maximum of 25 years in prison.
The indictment and prosecution came as one example of the work done by the ENDC Civil Rights Team, an initiative launched by U.S. Attorney Michael F. Easley Jr. in 2022.
The unit prioritizes investigations and prosecution of both civil & criminal cases involving civil rights, such as gender or sexual identification, religion, race and national origin, the protection of voter rights, disability rights or access, and discrimination in housing, healthcare, lending, employment, and education. 2023 saw the team add on two more dedicated civil rights prosecutors.
“Everybody has an equal right to live, work, worship, and love in America,” said Easley, Jr. about the team and their mission. “We won’t tolerate those who threaten, stalk, or use violence just because they don’t like how somebody else lives. Everybody is treated equally and fairly under the law and we won’t normalize violence and intimidation. Our Civil Rights Team is squaring off against threats and hate-fueled violence of any kind and not slowing down.”
The EDNC team has already worked on other cases involving the LGBTQ+ community prior to this one. Previously, an indictment of an Alabama man was served due to cyberstalking an NC woman due to her sexual orientation, similar to the Winters case.
A California man was also arrested after making threats targeting multiple entities and individuals in N.C., including an elected official, members of law enforcement, and several synagogues, adding another win for Easley, Jr’s team and the communities they serve.