PHOENIX — A Phoenix man has been sentenced to 37 months in federal prison after he threatened the justice of the peace who ordered him to wear an ankle monitor.
Harry Alexander Knight, 54, had pleaded guilty to interstate communication containing a threat to injure another person after Knight posted a violent message on Facebook.
According to the U.S. Attorney's Office of Arizona, Knight was ordered by a local justice of the peace in 2018 to wear an ankle monitor in connection to pending criminal charges.
Knight later cut off the monitoring device and fled the state to Washington. Once there, Knight began posting threatening messages against the justice of the peace on a public Facebook page.
FBI agents arrested Knight in California and extradited him back to Arizona.
After completing his prison sentence, Knight will be placed on supervised probation for three years and his internet usage will be monitored.
“Freedom of speech is a fundamental right,” said U.S. Attorney Gary Restaino, “but it is not without its limits. Those who weaponize the internet by posting online communications threatening others with physical harm remain subject to prosecution.”
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Arizona's Silent Witness program allows people to send in tips and share information about crimes happening within their local communities.
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