Phoenix man sentenced to prison for Facebook threat against justice of the peace
May 5, 2022, 4:35 AM
(Pexels Photo)
(Pexels Photo)
PHOENIX — A Phoenix man was sentenced to 37 months in prison on Wednesday for threatening an Arizona justice of the peace on Facebook.
Harry Alexander Knight, 54, previously pleaded guilty to transmitting an interstate communication containing a threat to injure another person, the United States Attorney’s Office for the District of Arizona said in a press release.
He will also have three years of supervised release when his prison time concludes.
“Freedom of speech is a fundamental right but it is not without its limits,” U.S. Attorney Gary Restaino said in the release.
“Those who weaponize the internet by posting online communications threatening others with physical harm remain subject to prosecution.”
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Knight in 2018 fled to Washington after cutting off an ankle monitor that the Arizona justice of the peace required him to wear due to pending criminal charges.
He then posted a message on a publicly available Facebook page threatening to injure the victim, authorities said.
The FBI, which conducted the investigation of the case, arrested Knight in California and he was returned to Arizona to face charges.
