An Alabama man pleaded guilty Tuesday to threatening Fulton County (Ga.) District Attorney Fani Willis for her investigation into former President Donald Trump.
Arthur Ray Hanson II, 59, of Huntsville, admitted to leaving threatening phone messages for Willis and the country sheriff a week before Trump was indicted on election interference charges in August.
Hanson said he never meant any harm, according to the Associated Press. He was indicted in October on charges of transmitting interstate threats against public officials.
"I made a stupid phone call," Hanson said in court. "I'm not a violent person."
In one voicemail, Hanson told Willis: "When you charge Trump on that fourth indictment, anytime you're alone, be looking over your shoulder."
Hanson threatened County Sheriff Patrick Labat if he took a mugshot photo of Trump.
"If you take a mug shot of the president and you're the reason it happened, some bad (expletive)'s gonna happen to you," Hanson said.
Willis accused the former president and his associates of engaging in a conspiracy to subvert Georgia's 2020 election results. Trump has pleaded not guilty and denied any wrongdoing.
Prosecutors said they will ask for leniency when Hanson is sentenced because he took responsibility for his actions. Hanson told U.S. Magistrate Regina Cannon he was angered by the investigation of Trump and made the phone calls hoping authorities would back down, the Associated Press said.
"I didn't knowingly know I was threatening anybody," he told the judge. "To me, it was a warning."
Sam Barron ✉
Sam Barron has almost two decades of experience covering a wide range of topics including politics, crime and business.
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