An Alabama Trump supporter was indicted for allegedly threatening officials connected to Donald Trump’s arrest and prosecution in the Georgia election subversion case.
Arthur Ray Hanson II, 59, was indicted by a federal grand jury in Atlanta on charges of transmitting interstate threats to injure Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis and Fulton County Sheriff Patrick Labat because of their connections to the Fulton County, Georgia, investigation of Trump, according to a press release from the US attorney’s office in the Northern District of Georgia.
Prosecutors say Hanson called the Fulton County government customer service line twice on Aug. 6, 2023, leaving threatening voicemails for Labat and Willis.
In messages to Labat, Hanson threatened the sheriff over taking Trump’s mugshot, according to prosecutors.
Among his threatening messages are: “If you think you gonna take a mugshot of my President Donald Trump and it’s gonna be ok, you gonna find out that after you take that mugshot, some bad [expletive]’s probably gonna happen to you;” “If you take a mugshot of the President and you’re the reason it happened, some bad [expletive]’s gonna happen to you;” “I’m warning you right now before you [expletive] up your life and get hurt real bad;” “whether you got a [expletive] badge or not ain’t gonna help you none;” and “you gonna get [expletive]ed up you keep [expletive]ing with my President.”
Hanson’s threatening messages to Willis included: “watch it when you’re going to the car at night, when you’re going into your house, watch everywhere that you’re going;” “I would be very afraid if I were you because you can’t be around people all the time that are going to protect you;” “there’s gonna be moments when you’re gonna be vulnerable;” “when you charge Trump on that fourth indictment, anytime you’re alone, be looking over your shoulder;” and “what you put out there, [expletive], comes back at you ten times harder, and don’t ever forget it.”
Hanson made an initial appearance in federal court in Huntsville, Alabama and is scheduled to be formally arraigned in Atlanta on Nov. 13, 2023.
“Sending interstate threats to physically harm prosecutors and law enforcement officers is a vile act intended to interfere with the administration of justice and intimidate individuals who accept a solemn duty to protect and safeguard the rights of citizens,” U.S. Attorney Ryan K. Buchanan said in the release. “When someone threatens to harm public servants for doing their jobs to enforce our criminal laws, it potentially weakens the very foundation of our society.”
