The voicemail message left on Sep. 27, 2021, to the chairman of the Maricopa County, Arizona, board of supervisors said,
“Hello Mr. Hickman, I am glad that you are standing up for democracy and want to place your hand on the Bible and say that the election was honest and fair. I really appreciate that. When we come to lynch your stupid lying Commie [expletive], you’ll remember that you lied on the [expletive] Bible, you piece of [expletive]. You’re gonna die, you piece of [expletive]. We’re going to hang you.”
The call came from out of state. It was traced to Mark A. Rizzi, 64, of Hiawatha, Iowa. An FBI task force set up to track down perps threatening election workers arrested him on Thursday, October 6, 2022 (see story here).
This will ruin his life. He’ll sit in jail for months awaiting trial, and paying a lawyer — if he can afford one — to defend him. Assuming the feds have the goods on him, he’ll either plead guilty or be convicted, and then he’s looking at probably at least 18 months in prison.
That’s what Travis Ford, 42, of Lincoln, Nebraska, got after pleading guilty to threatening a Colorado official. Like the Maricopa County caller, he alluded to physical harm (see story here). His life is ruined, too. He’ll now have a record as a convicted felon for the rest of his days.
America is remarkably free of political violence compared to many other countries. To keep it that way, such behavior must be nipped in the bud. That’s why it’s important to penalize the Capitol rioters and those who threaten public officials and election workers. Cooling them off in the cooler for a while helps keep things cool.
Related story: Federal prosecutors say a Capitol riot Oath Keeper defendant had the names of two election workers on a “death list” authorities found in a search of his home (story here).