Alabama Man Facing Charges Over Alleged Threats Against Trump Case Officials

An exterior view of the Superior Court building of Fulton County in Atlanta, Ga., on Aug. 31, 2022. Megan Varner/Getty Images

A federal grand jury in Atlanta has indicted an Alabama man for allegedly threatening a Georgia prosecutor and sheriff for their connection to a case investigating former President Donald Trump.

According to the Justice Department, Arthur Ray Hanson II is facing charges of transmitting interstate threats to injure District Attorney Fani Willis and Fulton County Sheriff Patrick Labat for their involvement in the Georgia investigation of President Trump.

President Trump and 18 other defendants were charged in Georgia over allegations of trying to overturn the 2020 election result in the state. President Trump and his co-defendants all pleaded not guilty. Four defendants have subsequently taken plea deals in exchange for testifying.

Mr. Hanson, 59, made his initial appearance in a federal court located in his hometown of Huntsville after he was indicted on Oct. 25. He will be formally arraigned in an Atlanta court on Nov. 13, the department said in a statement.

Prosecutors and FBI investigators allege that Mr. Hanson called the Fulton County Government customer services line twice on Aug. 6, shortly before the Georgia indictment against President Trump was returned, and left two voicemails.

In one message to Sheriff Labat, it’s alleged Mr. Hanson said that if the sheriff took a mugshot of the president, he might get “hurt real bad” and his badge “ain’t gonna help you none.”

Sheriff Patrick Labat, on a motorcycle, patrols an entrance of the Fulton County Jail in Atlanta, Ga., on Aug. 23, 2023. Madalina Vasiliu/The Epoch Times

Mr. Labat had previously said President Trump and his co-defendants would be treated like anyone else if they were indicted, including having their fingerprints and mugshot taken.

In the second message, prosecutors allege Mr. Hanson told District Attorney Willis that if she charged President Trump, she should “watch it when you’re going to the car at night, when you’re going into your house, watch everywhere that you’re going. I would be very afraid if I were you because you can’t be around people all the time that is [sic] going to protect you.”

Mr. Hanson has denied the charges against him and told The Associated Press, “It’s all a bunch of (expletive). That’s all it is; nobody was ever gonna hurt anybody, ever, to my knowledge.”

Mr. Hanson says he is not “that person that you think at all,” and he wouldn’t be talking further about the pending case.

The Justice Department said in a statement “that the indictment only contains charges,” and that Mr. Hanson, like all under the U.S. justice system, is presumed innocent until proven guilty. It will be up to prosecutors Assistant U.S. Attorneys Bret R. Hobson and Brent Alan Gray to “prove his guilt beyond a reasonable doubt at trial.”

No attorney for Mr. Hanson is listed on the court docket.

Not First Time Officials Threatened in Trump Cases

Mr. Hanson is not the first to face charges of threatening officials connected to the four ongoing court cases against President Trump. In August, a Texas woman was charged and ordered held after she allegedly threatened U.S. District Judge Tanya Chutkan and U.S. Rep. Sheila Jackson Lee (D-Texas).

U.S. Attorney Ryan K. Buchanan called threats against officials a “vile act intended to interfere with the administration of justice.”

U.S. District Judge Tanya Chutkan. Administrative Office of the U.S. Courts via AP

“Sending interstate threats to physically harm prosecutors and law enforcement officers is a vile act intended to interfere with the administration of justice and intimidate individuals who accept a solemn duty to protect and safeguard the rights of citizens,” Mr. Buchanan said.

“Our office will labor tirelessly with our federal, state, and local law enforcement partners to help ensure that law enforcement officials are free to serve our communities without the threat of physical attack,” he added.