The unit has filed 14 cases, with two resulting in yearslong prison terms for an Iowa man who threatened to “hang” an Arizona election official and a Texas man who suggested a “mass shooting of poll workers and election officials.”
“Someone needs to get these people AND their children,” said Frederick Francis Goltz, of Texas, who was sentenced to three and a half years in federal prison. “The children are the most important message to send.”
The threats tend to come in waves in response to social media posts by prominent figures in the election denier movement or blog posts on far-right websites, according to Colorado Secretary of State Jena Griswold, but she worries they haven’t been prosecuted vigorously enough.
About one in five election workers know someone who left their job for safety reasons, and 73 percent of local election officials say harassment has increased since the 2020 election. But Keller said most of the 2,000 reports of threats or harassment have not resulted in charges because the communication must be considered a “true threat” that shows a serious intent to harm.