An Ohio man who threatened to kill Katie Hobbs in 2022 during her successful bid for governor of Arizona was sentenced on Monday to two and a half years in prison, prosecutors announced.
The man, Joshua Russell, 46, of Ohio, pleaded guilty in U.S. District Court in Arizona in August to one count of making an interstate threat, according to the Justice Department.
He was indicted in December 2022 on charges that he had left several voice messages containing death threats with the office of Ms. Hobbs, who was then Arizona’s secretary of state.
Ms. Hobbs, a Democrat, was the state’s top election official when Joe Biden’s 2020 victory there was certified.
In the letter, Mr. Russell apologized to Ms. Hobbs and said that he was being treated for anger and drug and alcohol abuse, which he cited as a factor in making the threats.
Persons:
Katie Hobbs, Joshua Russell, Hobbs, Joe Biden’s, Russell’s, Russell
Organizations:
Justice Department, Democrat
Locations:
An Ohio, Arizona, Ohio, U.S