Man pleads guilty to sending bomb threat to Katie Hobbs when she was an Arizona election official
Aug 12, 2023, 9:15 AM
A poll worker handles ballots for the midterm election, in the presence of observers from both Democrat and Republican parties, at the Maricopa County Tabulation and Elections Center in Phoenix, Arizona, on October 25, 2022. (Photo by OLIVIER TOURON/AFP via Getty Images)
(Photo by OLIVIER TOURON/AFP via Getty Images)
PHOENIX — A man from Massachusetts pleaded guilty on Friday to threatening to bomb an Arizona election official, according to an announcement from the FBI’s Phoenix office.
Court documents said 38-year-old James Clark claimed he hid an explosive device near Katie Hobbs, who was Arizona’s secretary of state at the time.
He threatened her to resign by Feb. 16, 2021 — or risk blowing up, the FBI said.
Clark sent the threats through the website contact form of the Arizona Secretary of State’s Office on Feb. 14, the FBI said.
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After sending the ultimatum, Clark looked up her full name online, along with the words “address” and “how to kill,” the FBI said.
“Americans who serve the public by administering our voting systems should not have to fear for their lives simply for doing their jobs,” U.S. Attorney General Merrick Garland said in a statement.
Clark pleaded guilty to one count of of sending an interstate threat. He will be sentenced on Oct. 26. He faces a maximum penalty of five years in prison, the FBI said.
