A man who threatened Arizona’s then-secretary of state over the 2020 election results has been sentenced to more than two years in prison, the Department of Justice announced Monday. 

When Arizona Gov. Katie Hobbs was secretary of state, she was the target of a series of threatening voicemails left by an Ohio man named Joshua Russell. 

He accused Hobbs of rigging the election against former President Donald Trump in 2020, and other candidates in 2022.  He said she had signed her own “death warrant.”

U.S. Attorney for the District of Arizona Gary Restaino expects threats against election officials to continue.

U.S. Justice Department

Gary Restaino

“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, so we’ll continue to be vigilant on that,” Restaino said.

Arizona election officials have been the target of seven threat cases, out of about 18 nationwide, according to Restaino.

Arizona Republicans spearheaded the 2020 audit which found no evidence of widespread election fraud.

FBI Special Agent Akil Davis said that they are prepared for the upcoming 2024 election with these investigations and with computer science and data analyst experts.

Russel’s case is among the cases brought by the U.S. Justice Department’s Election Threats Task Force.

Department of Justice officials said that it’s the job of the media and the public to challenge and put a stop to misinformation and disinformation about election fraud going forward.

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