Alaska man gets 32 months for threatening to kill senators

A rural Alaska man who threatened to assassinate each of Alaska’s U.S. senators in a sequence of profane messages left at their congressional workplaces was sentenced Friday to 32 months in jail.

Jay Allen Johnson was additionally fined $5,000, ordered to serve three years of supervised launch after his jail sentence, and is barred by a protecting order from contacting U.S. Sens. Lisa Murkowski and Dan Sullivan, their household and workers members for 3 years.

“Nothing excuses this conduct, threatening our elected officers, an act that assaults our very system of governance,” U.S. Legal professional John E. Kuhn Jr. of the District of Alaska mentioned in an announcement. “The erosion of civility in our political discourse won’t ever justify threats or acts of violence. Johnson’s actions should be punished, and the Division of Justice will at all times work to make sure our elected officers can serve with out concern of hurt.”

Johnson, who mentioned he was too outdated and unwell to hold out his threats, partially blamed his habits on a mix of ache drugs and alcohol together with the isolation in the course of the pandemic prevalent in the course of the five-month span of 2021 when he left 17 threatening voicemails.

Johnson, 65, of Delta Junction, pleaded responsible in January to 2 counts of threatening to kill a U.S. official in January. Sentencing was carried out at U.S. District Courtroom in Fairbanks.

Sen. Dan Sullivan (R-AK) offers a remembrance offers a remembrance of late Rep. Don Younger (R-AK) as he lies in state in Statuary Corridor on the U.S. Capitol on March 29, 2022 in Washington, DC. 
(Greg Nash – Pool/Getty Photographs)

The federal government sought a sentence of 37 months in jail, adopted by three years of supervised launch together with the protecting order.

Johnson sought a 30-month time period or supervised launch.

“The defendant’s conduct is just unacceptable in a democracy” U.S. Assistant Legal professional Ryan Tansey wrote within the authorities’s sentencing memo filed earlier than the sentencing listening to. “As political violence and home extremism develop, violent intimidation of public officers should end in critical prison penalties.”

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In a single message left at Murkowski’s workplace, Johnson requested, “.50 caliber shell … you ever see what that does to a human head? Yeah, properly….”

In one other message to Murkowski, he mentioned: “I’ll discover out all of your properties, and I’ll burn every thing you hope to have, and I’ll burn every thing you hope to personal.”

Johnson additionally blamed her for the undocumented employees who’ve come into the nation.

“Your life is price $5,000, that’s all it’s price,” he mentioned on message to Murkowski’s workplace. “And as you let in these terrorists, and assassins, guess what, I’m going to make use of them. … I’m going to make use of them to come back and assassinate your f——— a—.”

Sen. Lisa Murkowski (R-AK) talks with Sen. Joe Manchin (D-WV) exterior the Senate Chamber on the U.S. Capitol on April 7, 2022 in Washington, DC.
(Drew Angerer/Getty Photographs)

In a message left for Sullivan, Johnson mentioned he was uninterested in politicians destroying the nation. He claimed he would get out his .50 caliber and begin a GoFundMe web page for the shells. “And I’m coming with a vengeance, motherf——-,” he mentioned.

“Sadly, political violence of all stripes has grow to be a transparent and current hazard to public security and the functioning of our democracy,” the federal government memo states. “The defendant’s conduct confirmed his rejection of that democracy and his willingness to resort to repeated violent threats when duly elected representatives take actions with which he disagrees.”

Johnson, who has had six driving underneath the affect convictions, is just not allowed to own firearms as a result of he’s a felon. Nonetheless, regulation enforcement seized seven unsecured firearms at his dwelling when executing a search warrant.

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The protection mentioned the weapons belonged to Johnson’s spouse, Catherine Pousson-Johnson. In October, when pleading that her husband be launched from jail whereas the authorized case proceeded, she was requested if she was conscious if her husband was making threats towards the 2 senators.

“Who hasn’t?” she replied.

On the identical listening to, she mentioned, “My husband is an outdated man, and he will get very indignant listening to politics on the information.”

Within the protection’s sentencing memo, legal professional Jason Weiner describes Johnson as being sick, affected by osteoarthritis and different illnesses. He has had a sequence of surgical procedures over time, together with twice on knees, again and shoulder procedures. He has been prescribed ache drugs.

He has additionally been recognized with nervousness and post-traumatic stress dysfunction, the latter on account of a turbulent childhood. Due to his well being issues, he retired from working bodily labor jobs at age 55, when his ingesting started, the memo says.

He takes full duty for his conduct and realizes that whereas he by no means meant to hold out the verbal threats, the senators didn’t know that, the memo says.

“Between the prescribed narcotics, ache and self-medicating, Mr. Johnson was not himself,” the memo says.

“If something, Mr. Johnson might use supervision not continued incarceration,” the protection memo says when asking the decide to think about three years of supervised launch as an possibility as an alternative of additional incarceration.