An Alabama man has been charged for making threats against Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis—the Black woman prosecutor responsible for bringing the Georgia election interference case against Donald Trump and his associates.
The court documents in the case were unsealed on Monday.
Arthur Ray Hanson II was indicted by a federal grand jury in Atlanta for transmitting interstate threats to hurt Willis, the Justice Department explained in a news release.
Hanson’s first appearance in federal court was in Huntsville, but he will be formally arraigned in Atlanta on Nov. 13. Court documents reveal that right before Trump was indicted back in August, Hanson called the county government’s customer service line to leave a threatening voicemail.
His message was for Willis, who led the Fulton County probe that resulted in charges against Trump—and 18 co-defendants—for attempts to overturn the 2020 presidential election results in Georgia.
The Aug. 6 voicemail Hanson left told Willis to watch her back when she was alone. He also threatened Sheriff Patrick Labat. Hanson warned Labat against taking a mug shot of Trump and implied that there would be violent repercussions if he did.
On Monday, Labat said that he and Willis had been subjected to these heinous threats “for simply doing our job.” He also stated that he plans to continue serving Fulton County “with the utmost integrity.”
The U.S. attorney for the Northern District of Georgia, Ryan K. Buchanan, has spoken out against folks trying to intimidate prosecutors by calling it “a vile act intended to interfere with the administration of justice.”
U.S. District Judge Tanya Chutkan, the Black woman who is presiding over Trump’s election interference case in D.C., has also faced similar treatment. In August, a woman in Texas was charged with threatening Judge Chutkan and pled not guilty.