Topline
A federal judge sentenced Texan Eric Swarbrick to 30 months in prison Wednesday after he pled guilty to stalking and sending threatening letters and emails to Taylor Swift’s former label Big Machine Records in Nashville, Tennessee.
Taylor Swift attends the 2019 American Music Awards at on November 24, 2019 in Los Angeles, … [+]
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Key Facts
Swarbrick was given the sentence, which includes three years of supervised release, during a hearing in Nashville, but the terms were agreed upon by prosecutors in a plea agreement Swarbrick entered in 2019.
Big Machine Records started receiving letters from Swarbrick in January 2018 asking CEO Scott Borchetta to introduce him to Swift, according to the complaint.
Swarbrick sent at least 40 letters and emails which became increasingly violent and sexual.
He drove from his home in Austin, Texas, to Nashville to personally deliver the letters at least three times and wandered the halls, including on August 2, when he was arrested by the Metropolitan Nashville Police Department.
Swarbrick continued to contact Big Machine Records after he was released, expressed his desire to rape and kill Swift and said he would kill himself in front of Borchetta and his staff.
Crucial Quote
“My fear of violence has continued into my personal life. I carry QuikClot army grade bandage dressing, which is for gunshot or stab wounds,” Swift wrote in a 2019 essay for Elle. “Websites and tabloids have taken it upon themselves to post every home address I’ve ever had online. You get enough stalkers trying to break into your house and you kind of start prepping for bad things.”
Further Reading
Texas man sentenced to prison for stalking Taylor Swift (AP News)
Texas Man Facing Federal Charges After Threatening Letters Sent to Taylor Swift’s Record Label (U.S. Attorney’s Office Middle District of Tennessee)
