Massachusetts man made bomb threat against Arizona election official, feds say

A Massachusetts man has been arrested on federal allegations he made a bomb menace in opposition to an Arizona election official in February 2021.  

James Clark, 38, was arrested Friday on one rely every of creating a bomb menace, perpetrating a bomb hoax and speaking an interstate menace, the Justice Division stated in a press launch.

The federal indictment states that on Feb. 14, 2021, Clark posted a message by way of a contact kind on the Arizona secretary of state’s workplace elections division web site through which he wrote, “Your legal professional basic must resign by Tuesday February sixteenth by 9 am or the explosive system impacted in her private house will probably be detonated.”

Clark additionally searched on-line for the tackle of the election official, in addition to the phrases, “the best way to kill,” the Justice Division stated. 4 days after sending the bomb menace, Clark did one other on-line seek for the phrases “fema boston marathon bombing” and “fema boston marathon bombing plan digital military,” in keeping with the Justice Division.

Clark appeared earlier than a choose Friday in Boston federal court docket. If convicted as charged, he faces a most of as much as 10 years in federal jail for the bomb menace, and 5 years in jail every for the opposite two counts.

“All through Arizona, we’re lucky to have extremely skilled state, county and native officers who administer elections in a good and neutral method,” U.S. Legal professional for the District of Arizona Gary M. Restaino stated in an announcement. “Democracy requires that we help these officers, and that we take significantly allegations of threats or violence in opposition to them.”

In its fourth public listening to in mid-June, a number of election officers testified earlier than the Home choose committee investigating the Jan. 6 Capitol riot that they obtained demise threats in response to former President Donald Trump’s efforts to overturn the outcomes of the 2020 election.

“A variety of threats, wishing demise upon me,” Wandrea Arshaye Moss, an election employee in Fulton County, Georgia, testified. “A variety of them had been racist. A variety of them had been simply hateful.”

In January, a Texas man was additionally federally charged with posting election-related threats in opposition to Georgia authorities officers.