'Death threats are not debate': DOJ on election threat sentencing in Phoenix case

Justice Department officials said the two-and-a-half-year sentence given Monday to an Ohio man − one of the longest handed down under a federal task force − reinforced the fight against people threatening election workers.

“There is no constitutional right to vigilantism," said Gary Restaino, the U.S. attorney for Arizona, whose office prosecuted the case.

His comments to reporters Monday came after the sentencing of Joshua Russell, 45, of Bucyrus, Ohio, for making death threats against Katie Hobbs, Arizona's secretary of state.

U.S. District Judge Steven Logan sentenced Russell to prison despite his lawyers asking for probation.

What did Russell do?

Russell pleaded guilty on Aug. 31, 2023, to one count of transmitting an interstate threat. He was charged with making three death threats to an election official in the Arizona secretary of state’s office.

“You’re the enemy of the United States, you’re a traitor to this country and you better put your (affairs in order) cause your days are extremely numbered,” Russell said in the first message Aug. 2, 2022, the day of the state’s primary, according to court records. Russell said she would “pay with your life.”

“You are a terrorist,” Russell said in the second message Sept, 2, 2022, according to court records. “You are a derelict criminal.” He added that he would see her behind bars or “see you to the grave.”

“A war is coming for you. The entire nation is coming for you,” Russell said in the third message Nov. 15, 2022, a week after the general election. Russell added that she had “signed your own death warrant” and warned “your days are very short.”

More: 'I dread 2024': America's local election officials are being pushed to their limits

Prosecutors recommended 30 months in prison.

“Threats such as those sent by Defendant represent a growing problem of national concern: As is true in this case, threats leave public officials who administer elections fearful for their lives and for the safety of their families,” prosecutors wrote.

More: Election workers faced new threats after 2020 election. Experts fear it will drive them away

Threats against election workers surged after Trump's baseless claims of fraud in 2020: DOJ

Threats against election workers spiked after the 2020 election, when former President Donald Trump complained baselessly about widespread election fraud. His fellow Republicans at the Justice Department and in key states such as Arizona and Georgia found no widespread fraud.

Attorney General Merrick Garland announced the creation of the Justice Department Election Threats Task Force in June 2021 to ensure election workers – whether elected, appointed or volunteer – could do their jobs without threats and intimidation.

“If you threaten violence against the public servants who administer our elections, there will be consequences,” Garland said Monday 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. The Justice Department will continue to aggressively investigate and prosecute those who threaten these public servants.”

The department has investigated thousands of threats reported since the task force was created. But investigators must determine whether emails or voice mails or other messages rise to the level of threats to election officials.

“Death threats are not debate,” said John Keller, head of the Justice Department’s Election Threats Task Force.

Restaino said seven of about 20 criminal criminal cases involve threats against Arizona officials.

“We unfortunately are a leader in that," Restaino said. “We expect that we are going to remain in the crosshairs, so to speak, of these threats, given that Arizona will remain a battleground state and so we will continue to be vigilant on that.

Election workers quit because of threats: justice officials

Three out of four election officials say threats have increased in recent years and one in six has been threatened, according to a Brennan Center for Justice survey in March 2022. More than half the election officials said they are concerned the threats will make it difficult to retain and recruit election workers, the survey found.

Turnover in election officials will be significant this year. More than one in five election officials will be serving in their first presidential election this year, according to a Brennan Center survey of election officials in March 2023.

"We are seeing resignations from election officials across the country," said Keller, the task force leader.

A similar pattern of electoral intimidation is playing out nationally in voting centers, according to USA TODAY. Tens of thousands of longtime election workers have been harassed out of their jobs by a small cadre of self-appointed voting experts and critics who have hounded clerks to switch to paper ballots, demanded hand-counted results, and insisted they be allowed to participate in ways that are normally barred specifically because they can introduce errors.

Russell's lawyers sought to avoid jail time for him

Russell realized his actions were largely driven by his use of illicit substances and that he was struggling mentally, according to his defense lawyers. Russell spiraled into a deep depression in 2022 and was drinking, smoking marijuana and occasionally taking methamphetamine, according to his lawyers. Russell voluntarily sought treatment for substance abuse and continues to attend.

Russell’s family couldn’t maintain his mortgage payments while he is jailed, so he could lose his home and job if imprisoned, his lawyers argued.

Public defenders proposed a probationary sentence. They said authorities found no weapons in his home and no evidence he planned to travel outside Ohio to carry out any threats.

“A just sentence of probation is necessary to avoid disruption while still holding him accountable,” public defenders Jon Sands and Jazmin Alagha wrote.

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: DOJ highlights prosecution of election threats with AZ sentence