Former Trump campaign deputy Rick Gates is foregoing a trip to Boston with his wife and four kids after being the target of threats online that invoked the Russian mafia.
Media coverage of Gates’ request to take his family to Boston for a spring break trip prompted “comments on the internet, some of which were of a threatening character,” Gates’ attorney Thomas Green wrote in the court filing.
“After entry of the Court’s Order, Boston newspapers published stories that Mr. Gates and his family would be visiting Boston,” Green wrote. “Publication of that fact generated comments on the internet, some of which were of a threatening character. As a result, Mr. Gates and his wife believe it is not prudent to travel to Boston with their children.”
The comments were posted to an online Boston Globe story late last month, outlining Gates’ intended visit to Boston. The comments indicated that Russians in Boston may be upset with Gates.
Gates is currently under court supervision and had received approval from Judge Amy Berman Jackson for the trip after he pleaded guilty and agreed to comply with special counsel Robert Mueller’s Russia probe last week.
Gates has requested to take his family to an alternative location, which the judge approved. It was not revealed when or where the new trip would occur.
Gates pleaded guilty last Friday to one count each of conspiracy and making false statements. Although he is free on a $5 million bail, he requires court permission to travel if he travels outside of Washington, D.C., or Richmond, Va.
Gates and his co-defendant Paul Manafort, President Trump’s former campaign chairman, were indicted by a federal grand jury last fall on 12 charges related to the work they did in Ukraine before joining Trump’s campaign. They were later hit with a new 32-charge indictment on Thursday.
Manafort has so far given no indication that he will comply with Mueller’s probe, which is investigating whether the Trump campaign colluded with Russia.
