Gerrard rejected those pleas, saying there's “nothing special” about being steadily employed and noting Ford made 18 serious threats over three months. He said Ford had a favorable employment record, the threats were out of character and that Ford made them under duress because COVID-19 vaccine mandates fueled his antigovernment sentiment. His attorney, Jason Troia, had sought a shorter sentence. Ford was not charged for those allegations. Prosecutors also said Ford made death threats against President Joe Biden and an unspecified technology company CEO. “Threats are being used to try to intimidate election officials from doing their jobs in an effort to destabilize democracy.Īttorney General Merrick Garland also released a statement declaring, “This sentence makes clear that those who illegally threaten election workers should be prepared to face meaningful penalties.”įederal prosecutors had sought a two-year prison sentence, citing “a genuine need for general deterrence here.” Investigators discovered Ford made the threats numerous times last year over an Instagram account started by his brother to which Ford gained access. “People who threaten election officials must be held accountable," her statement said. Griswold said violent threats cannot become an accepted norm. “I'm ashamed, and I'm embarrassed for not only putting myself but my family through this,” he said. 11 and later complete a year of post-prison supervision.įord told the court Thursday he accepts responsibility for his actions and understands they were wrong. Justice Department’s Election Threats Task Force, launched last year after the 2020 presidential contest amid concerns about the potential effect on democracy of threats against election officials and workers.Ī national advocate for elections security, Griswold has received thousands of threats over her insistence the 2020 election was secure despite false claims by former President Donald Trump it was stolen.įord must report to a federal prison Jan. It was the first guilty plea obtained by the U.S. He pleaded guilty earlier this year to sending threats to Secretary of State Jena Griswold on social media. District Court in Lincoln, where he lives. In Nebraska, Travis Ford was sentenced in U.S. The sentence came the same day an Iowa man was arrested for allegedly leaving voicemail threats for an Arizona official and the Arizona's Attorney General's Office. (AP) - A Nebraska man was sentenced Thursday to 18 months in prison for making online threats against Colorado’s top elections official, one of the first cases brought by a federal task force devoted to protecting elections workers nationwide from rising threats.
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