U.S. Postal Service headquarters in Washington, D.C.

A Buffalo woman faces federal charges after prosecutors say she spit on a U.S. Postal Service worker after threatening to give him the new coronavirus. 

Melissa Daniels-Johnson was charged with the assault of a federal employee and threatening to assault a federal employee, prosecutors announced.

"Any individual who threatens or attempts to use the COVID-19 virus as a weapon as alleged here deserves — and should expect — a strong dose of justice," said U.S. Attorney James Kennedy Jr. of the Western District of New York, in a statement. "For a person to spit on a public servant is beyond vile and disgusting — it is criminal."

With assault charges often handled at the state level, some attorneys said the federal charges sought to make an example out of the woman by publicizing the case. The move, they said, puts the public on notice that serious criminal consequences can come from intimidating people with the coronavirus.

Gloria Browne-Marshall, a professor of constitutional law at John Jay College of Criminal Justice, said the filing of federal charges reflects the fear tied to the spread of the coronavirus, which has killed thousands in New York state.

"We are at a heightened level of anxiety," she said. 

The federal charges, which were filed Tuesday, stem from a March 19 altercation at a post office in a Buffalo suburb, according to an affidavit attached to the federal criminal complaint. 

A letter carrier reported the woman launched into a screaming, profanity-laced tirade after he mentioned she drove into the parking lot incorrectly. He said the woman threatened to infect him with the virus by coughing on him. Moments later, the woman rolled up in her vehicle and spit at him, getting spit on his shorts and a leg, according to the criminal complaint. 

It remains unclear if the woman has tested positive for the new coronavirus.

It's unusual for such an accusation to be charged as a federal offense, said Alice Fontier, managing director of the Neighborhood Defender Service of Harlem.

That's because federal prosecution does not often focus on one-offense, one-victim crimes such as this altercation, she said. Those types of assault cases are the "bread and butter" of state cases, she said.

The defendant's initial appearance is scheduled for April 27. No lawyer was identified as defense counsel.