Justice Dept. secures first guilty plea for threats to election workers [View all]

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David Nakamura
@DavidNakamura
A Nebraska man pleaded guilty on charges that he threatened an election official over social media last year, marking the first conviction for a Justice Dept. task force charged with protecting poll workers.

washingtonpost.com
Justice Dept. secures first guilty plea for threats to election workers
Travis Ford, 42, of Lincoln, Neb., posted multiple hostile messages on an Instagram page associated with an unnamed official, authorities said.
3:20 PM · Jun 16, 2022

https://www.washingtonpost.com/national-security/2022/06/16/travis-ford-elections-threat-nebraska/

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A Nebraska man pleaded guilty Thursday on charges that he threatened an election official over social media last year, marking the first conviction for a Justice Department task force charged with protecting poll workers.

Federal authorities said Travis Ford, 42, of Lincoln, Neb., posted multiple hostile messages on an Instagram page associated with the official, who was not named in a Justice Department news release.

“Do you feel safe? You shouldn’t. Do you think Soros will/can protect you?” Ford wrote in one August 2021 message, apparently referring to Democratic megadonor George Soros, who has long been the subject of false conspiracies from far-right and anti-Semitic groups.

In another posting, Ford wrote: “Your security detail is far too thin and incompetent to protect you. This world is unpredictable these days … anything can happen to anyone.” He is scheduled to be sentenced Oct. 6 and faces up to two years in prison, the Justice Department said.

“The Justice Department will not tolerate illegal threats of violence against public officials,” Attorney General Merrick Garland said in a statement. “Threats of violence against election officials are dangerous for people’s safety and dangerous for our democracy.”

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