Ohio man charged in Arizona for threatening elections official

An Ohio man will face federal charges for allegedly threatening to kill an elections official in Arizona, the Justice Department (DOJ) announced Wednesday. 

Joshua Russell, a 44-year-old from Bucyrus, Ohio, allegedly left three threatening voicemail messages for an election official from the Arizona Secretary of State’s office, whose name was redacted in the DOJ announcement. 

“We will not endure your crimes on America another day. … We will not wait for you to be drugged through court. A war is coming for you. The entire nation is coming for you. And we will stop, at no end, until you are in the ground,” reads one of the voicemail transcripts, according to the indictment.  

In another, Russell allegedly accuses the official of being a “traitor” and “enemy of the United States” and threatens that “your days … are extremely numbered.”  

“America’s coming for you, and you will pay with your life,” a third voicemail says.  

A federal grand jury in Phoenix returned the indictment for Russell Wednesday, and Russell has been charged with three counts of making a threatening interstate communication — and three counts of making a threatening interstate telephone call.

He faces a five-year maximum for each communications count and a two-year maximum for each phone call count, according to the DOJ. 

Arizona weathered a number of confirmed and reported threats against elections officials during this year’s midterm elections, especially as the state’s vote certification process drew out into December.  

A few weeks ahead of Election Day, uniformed “vigilantes” dressed in tactical gear were seen outside the state’s largest county, and several cases of possible voter intimidation were reportedly referred to the DOJ, according to ABC News. 

Russell’s case is part of the DOJ’s Election Threats Task Force, which is leading efforts to address threats against election workers.