A Napa resident, Haddow Mills, has been indicted by a federal grand jury for allegedly making threats of violence against a senior government official. Mills, 64, appeared in federal court after the indictment was unsealed.
Court documents indicate that on September 25, 2025, Mills sent an email threatening to kill a Senate-confirmed federal official in Washington, D.C., identified only as the “Victim.” The email read: “I will hunt [the Victim] down and kill him.” Prosecutors allege that in the months before this threat, Mills sent dozens of harassing and threatening emails to the Victim’s ex-spouse. One message stated: “I still am hunting down [Victim’s first name]. He is a dead man walking.” Other emails reportedly included threats against the Victim’s ex-spouse and their children.
United States Attorney Craig H. Missakian and Acting U.S. Marshal Peter Marketos for the Eastern District of Virginia announced the charges.
Mills was released on bond and is scheduled for a status conference on May 21, 2026 before U.S. District Judge Rita F. Lin.
The indictment is an allegation; all defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt. If convicted under 18 U.S.C. § 875(c) for transmitting interstate communications with threats to kidnap or injure, Mills could face up to five years in prison and a $250,000 fine. Sentencing would be determined according to federal guidelines and statute 18 U.S.C. § 3553.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Brandon Moore is leading the prosecution. The case was investigated by the U.S. Marshals Service with help from both the Napa County Sheriff’s Office and Arlington County Police Department in Virginia.
