PHOENIX — An Alabama man was sentenced Monday to 30 months in prison for sending threatening statements to the Maricopa County Elections Department during the 2022 election.
Brian J. Ogstad, 60, was sentenced after pleading guilty to one count of making threatening communication. He will be placed on supervised released for 36 months and must pay a $1,000 fine, according to the U.S. Attorney's Office of Arizona.
During Arizona's primary election in August 2022, Ogstad sent multiple threatening messages to an Instagram account maintained by the county's elections department.
The defendant's threatening messages included the following:
“You did it! Now you are [expletive]. Dead. You will all be executed for your crimes”
“You are lying, cheating [expletive] . . . you better not come in my church, my business or send your kids to my school. You are [expletive] stupid if you think your lives are safe.”
“[Y]ou people are so ducking [sic] stupid. Everyone knows you are lots [sic], cheats, frauds and in doing so in relation to elections have committed treason. You will all be executed. Bang [expletive]!”
Maricopa County officials have reported being subjected to threats since 2020, when Democrat Joe Biden narrowly won Arizona over Republican Donald Trump in the presidential race. Other individuals have since been criminally charged with making threats toward elected officials.
RELATED: Ohio man gets 2.5 years in prison for death threats made in 2022 to Arizona’s top election official
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