The Justice Department has secured 20 prosecutions in relation to threats on election officials in recent years, and the November election is expected to be fiercely contested in several races and states.
The DOJ touted its efforts on Monday, announcing a prison sentence for a man who had threatened then-Arizona Secretary of State Katie Hobbs, pointing out various prosecutions it has pursued against threats to officials in the Grand Canyon State. Here are three recent prosecutions the DOJ has pursued regarding threats made to Arizona election officials.
Ohio man’s threats toward Hobbs
The DOJ announced on Monday that Joshua Russell, 46, had been sentenced to 2 1/2 years in prison for making a threatening interstate communication. He pleaded guilty to the one count in August 2023.
Russell allegedly left voicemails with Hobbs’s office on Aug. 2, 2022, and Nov. 15, 2022, in which he accused her of being “the enemy of the United States” and a “traitor” to the country and warned that her days are “extremely numbered.”
Another voicemail he allegedly left after the election warned Hobbs that “you just signed your own death warrant” and to “get your affairs in order, ’cause your days are very short.”
The DOJ called the threats “an attack on the democratic process itself.”
“The defendant made multiple death threats against an Arizona election official during the state’s elections. This conduct is an attack on the democratic process itself, and today’s sentence shows that perpetrators of such egregious, unlawful conduct will be held to account,” Principal Deputy Assistant Attorney General Nicole Argentieri said in a statement on Monday.
Massachusetts man’s bomb threat to Arizona secretary of state’s office
Earlier this month, the DOJ announced that James Clark, 40, had been sentenced to three years and six months of prison for sending a bomb threat to the Arizona secretary of state’s office months after the 2020 election.
Clark allegedly sent a message to the office’s online contact form saying to “resign by Tuesday February 16th by 9 am or the explosive device impacted in her personal space will be detonated.” The DOJ also alleged that he conducted online searches for “how to kill” and related to the 2013 Boston Marathon bombing.
He pleaded guilty to one count of making a threatening interstate communication in August 2023.
Alabama man’s alleged threats toward Maricopa County election officials
Late last month, the DOJ announced it had indicted an Alabama man on five counts of communicating an interstate threat. Brian Jerry Ogstad, 59, was arrested and made his initial court appearance in February on charges brought by the DOJ on threats he allegedly made toward Maricopa County, Arizona, officials.
The charging document from the DOJ alleges that Ogstad sent several direct messages to Maricopa County Election social media accounts with threatening messages.
“You did it! Now you are f***ed. Dead. You will all be executed for your crimes,” Ogstad allegedly said in one message.
The messages were sent at about the time of the 2022 primary elections in Arizona.
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Attorney General Merrick Garland said in a statement on Monday that the DOJ will “continue to aggressively investigate and prosecute” threats against election officials as primary season kicks into high gear.
“If you threaten violence against the public servants who administer our elections, there will be consequences,” Garland said in a statement. “The right to vote, which is the cornerstone of our democracy, relies on the ability of election workers and election officials to perform their duties without fearing for their lives.”
