(NewsSpace.com) – Those who hold office often become targets because they are public figures. Many have received threatening phone calls, emails, and messages from those unhappy with their policies or stance. A Massachusetts man was recently convicted of one such offense and has since been sentenced.
Back in August, 38-year-old James Clark of Falmouth, Massachusetts, pleaded guilty to a single count of making a threatening interstate communication. The charge stemmed from a message he sent to Katie Hobbs on February 14, 2021, demanding her resignation or a bomb located in her personal space would be set off. Hobbs, who is now the Arizona state governor, was, at the time, the secretary of state. But Clark didn’t stop there.
Prosecutors said Clark searched for Hobbs’ name alongside the words “how to kill” and her address. He also reportedly researched the 2013 Boston Marathon bombing. Following the receipt of the message, law enforcement swept the building where her office was located, along with the vehicles and personal residences of election officials. Clark was arrested in 2022 after the FBI traced a message sent through an online form back to him.
The case was part of those brought forth by the Election Threats Task Force created by the Justice Department to protect election workers and “address threats of violence against” them. It was launched in June 2021 following the events of January 6, 2021, and former President Donald Trump’s attempts to undermine the results. There have been several cases since its inception, ironically, with many of the threats addressed to Arizona election officials.
On Tuesday, March 12, Clark was sentenced to 3.5 years in prison. Attorney General Merrick Garland released a statement saying that those who use “illegal threats of violence to intimidate election workers” will be held “accountable under the law” and that the agency “will continue to aggressively investigate and prosecute such unlawful threats of violence.”
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