‘Lonely’ Queens man acquitted of threatening Trump will not be tried for threatening Republican members of Congress

Federal prosecutors won’t seek a new trial against a Queens man accused of threatening Republican members of Congress — after a jury acquitted him on charges he threatened to kill former President Donald Trump in a series of rambling phone calls to the Secret Service.

Thomas Welnicki was found not guilty after a brief trial in Brooklyn federal court in November, after his defense lawyer argued that he was no danger, just a sad, isolated “crank” who became increasingly frightened by Trump’s actions after he lost the 2020 election.

Welnicki, 72, faced a separate trial accusing him of threats made to members of Congress during his calls, after his attorney successfully argued to split those accusations from the Trump case.

In a court filing Tuesday, federal prosecutors agreed to defer prosecution for a year, then move to dismiss the case if Welnicki stays out of trouble.

His lawyer, Deirdre von Dornum, described Welnicki to the jury as a “lonely,” harmless figure who drank “maybe too much blackberry brandy in the morning” and kept calling the Secret Service in 2021 because its agents were the only ones who’d pick up the phone.

Matthew Bartolo, the Secret Service case agent in charge of the investigation, admitted during cross-examination that the agency had Welnicki arrested to get him to stop calling them.