An Alabama man has been handed a 30-month prison sentence for threatening messages sent to the Maricopa County Elections Office around the time of the Arizona primary elections, which took place on August 2, 2022. Brian Jerry Ogstad, a 60-year-old resident of Cullman, Alabama, pleaded guilty to Making a Threatening Interstate Communication and will also have to endure a three-year term of supervised release post-incarceration and pay a $1,000 fine, as reported by the U.S. Attorney’s Office, District of Arizona.
Falling in the middle of an election season marked by tensions, these threats against public servants aiding the constitutional process of voting, drew rapid and serious responses from authorities. United States Attorney Gary Restaino emphasized, in a statement obtained by the U.S. Attorney’s Office, District of Arizona, "In this election season we honor and respect those public servants who enable Americans to exercise their constitutional right to vote." He continued, "And we seek to protect all election workers from intimidation and harassment. Threats of violence, whether conveyed by words or deeds or pictures, will be met in this District with robust prosecution."
The messages sent by Ogstad contained explicit language and clear threats of violence aimed at employees of the Maricopa County Elections Office. His communications included alarming statements such as, "You are lying, cheating [expletive]...you better not come in my church, my business or send your kids to my school. You are [expletive] stupid if you think your lives are safe." These messages were brought to the forefront during the investigation led by the FBI Phoenix Field Office and assisted substantially by the FBI Birmingham Field Office.
Jarod Brown, the FBI Phoenix Acting Special Agent in Charge, highlighted the larger concern, stating, "As Director Wray has said many times, threats of violence toward election workers are also threats to the democratic process and cannot become normalized." Assistant U.S. Attorney Mary Sue Feldmeier, District of Arizona, and Trial Attorney Tanya Senanayake of the National Security Division’s Counterterrorism Section handled the prosecution of the case (Case Number: CR-24-03130-PHX-MTL).
