A man accused of threatening to kill hosts of a National Public Radio program has agreed to plead guilty to the charges.

John Crosby, 38, formerly of Cape Elizabeth, was to go on trial in U.S. District Court in May on charges that he emailed dozens of death threats and bizarre accusations directed at Melissa Block and Guy Raz, hosts of NPR’s “All Things Considered.”

He also was charged with illegally possessing a firearm, after a shotgun and ammunition were found in his car after his arrest Jan. 26 at the University of Southern Maine’s Glickman Library.

Court documents say Crosby sent a message Jan. 17 that said: “I am going to kill Melissa Block. … She is commissar who is helping to destroy me to use me as a human sacrifice. She will be raped, beaten, tortured and murdered very soon.”

Subsequent emails included a threat to brutally torture and kill people unless he was paid $3 million that he was owed.

The FBI tracked the emails back to wireless accounts for USM and the Starbucks coffee shop on Congress Street in Portland.

Family members and the federal government said Crosby suffers from mental illness.

Crosby’s attorney, John E. Geary, filed a notice with the court Thursday saying that Crosby intends to waive his right to trial and change his plea to guilty.

It is not clear whether the plea is part of a plea agreement, although acceptance of responsibility typically results in a lower sentence.

A hearing on Crosby’s change of plea is scheduled for next Friday.

Staff Writer David Hench can be contacted at 791-6327 or at:

dhench@pressherald.com