Justice Department’s Election Threats Task Force Secures Ninth Conviction

Today in the Northern District of Georgia and in the District of Arizona, the Justice Department secured guilty pleas in two criminal cases involving defendants charged with making illegal threats against members of the election community.

The guilty pleas follow two recent sentencings in the District of Arizona and the Northern District of Texas. To date, the Justice Department’s Election Threats Task Force has charged 14 cases involving threats against the election community and secured nine convictions.

“A functioning democracy requires that the public servants who administer our elections are able to do their jobs without fearing for their lives,” said Attorney General Merrick B. Garland. “The Justice Department will continue to investigate and prosecute those who target election officials and election workers as part of our broader efforts to safeguard the right to vote and to defend our democracy.”

On Monday in the District of Arizona, an Iowa man was sentenced to two and a half years in prison for sending threatening communications to an election official on the Maricopa County Board of Supervisors and to the then-Attorney General of Arizona.

This afternoon in the Northern District of Georgia, a Texas man pleaded guilty to posting a message riddled with graphic threats aimed at two Georgia officials, an election worker, and local law enforcement.

Also today in the District of Arizona, an Ohio man pleaded guilty to sending a death threat to an election official with the Arizona Secretary of State’s Office.

And finally, earlier this month, a Texas man was sentenced to three and a half years in prison for threats he made to an official in the Maricopa County Attorney’s Office and another Maricopa County official.

During and following the 2020 election cycle, the election community reported a sharp increase in hostile and threatening communications received from members of the public. In response to the increase in threats, in June 2021 the Justice Department announced the creation of the Election Threats Task Force