A Massachusetts man pleaded guilty Friday to sending a bomb threat to an Arizona state election official in early 2021, the Justice Department announced.
James W. Clark, 38, was accused of targeting the unnamed official in a message sent via a contact form on the Arizona secretary of state’s website.
Prosecutors say Clark sent a note on Feb. 14, 2021, reading, “Your attorney general needs to resign by Tuesday February 16th by 9 am or the explosive device impacted in her personal space will be detonated.”
At the time, Arizona’s attorney general was Republican Mark Brnovich. It is not clear who Clark was threatening.
Court records show that Clark was initially arrested and released on personal recognizance last summer.
His threat is just one of many that were made after the 2020 election, particularly in states like Arizona where former President Donald Trump contested his loss at the polls by spreading unfounded theories about how elections were carried out. An Iowa man accused of targeting Brnovich and another Arizona election official pleaded guilty back in April, after claiming he was “a victim of a crime” that was “the theft of the 2020 election.”
Brnovich, however, was later reported to have taken steps to aid Trump, allegedly burying findings from investigators that showed there was no threat to the sanctity of Arizona’s election. He was succeeded earlier this year by Democrat Kris Mayes, who has pledged to protect voting rights.
U.S. Attorney General Merrick Garland directed resources to form an Election Threats Task Force in the summer of 2021, a couple of months after taking office in the wake of the Jan. 6 Capitol attack in Washington.
“Americans who serve the public by administering our voting systems should not have to fear for their lives simply for doing their jobs,” Garland said in a statement Friday as Clark’s plea was announced. “As this case demonstrates, the Justice Department is investigating and prosecuting violations of federal law against election officials and election workers. Only by protecting those who administer the election process can we ensure that the right to vote, itself, is protected.”
