PHOENIX — An Iowa man has pleaded guilty to leaving voicemails for two of Arizona's elected officials, which threatened to harm them for not trying to change the outcome of the 2020 election.
Mark Rissi, 64, pleaded guilty in federal court Thursday to two counts of making a threatening interstate communication. He could be sentenced to up to five years in prison for each offense, according to the U.S. Department of Justice.
In 2021, the defendant left voicemails for Maricopa County Supervisor Clint Hickman and former Arizona Attorney General Mark Brnovich where he violently expressed his dissatisfaction with how the officials were investigating Arizona's 2020 election.
"Do your job, Brnovich, or you will hang with those [expletive] in the end. We will see to it. Torches and pitchforks. That’s your future, [expletive]. Do your job," the defendant said in one of the voicemail messages.
The message left for Hickman mentioned threats of lynching and hanging, the DOJ said.
Rissi's threats were made during a particularly contentious time in Arizona politics.
Democrat Joe Biden narrowly won Arizona over Republican Donald Trump in 2020, which sparked outrage and claims of fraud from local Republicans.
GOP leaders in the Arizona Legislature launched a months-long "audit" of Maricopa County's 2020 ballots, the results of which still showed Biden as the winner in the presidential race.
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