PHOENIX — An Iowa man has learned his fate in court after sending threatening messages to Maricopa County officials following the 2020 Presidential Election.
On Monday, 64-year-old Mark Rissi of Hiawatha was sentenced to two-and-a-half years in prison for sending threatening communications to an election official on the Maricopa County Board of Supervisors and to the then-Attorney General of Arizona.
“This sentence makes clear that individuals who illegally threaten election officials and others associated with the electoral process will face meaningful penalties,” said Acting Assistant Attorney General Nicole M. Argentieri of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division. “The Justice Department will diligently investigate and prosecute attempts to illegally threaten, intimidate, and coerce the individuals administering the nation’s free and fair elections.”
Federal prosecutors said Rissi left voicemail messages targeting Clint Hickman and Mark Brnovich, both Republicans.
In April, Rissi pleaded guilty to two counts of making a threatening interstate communication.
Prosecutors said Rissi's message for Hickman was left Sept. 27, 2021, three days after a technology firm called Cyber Ninjas released a report alleging a wide range of election improprieties in Maricopa County, which includes the Phoenix area. Experts said the report, which was commissioned by Republican leaders of the state Senate, was riddled with errors, bias and flawed methodology.
More than two months later, as Brnovich was under pressure from election deniers to charge people with election fraud, prosecutors say Rissi left another message telling him to "do your job" and threatening violence.
The Justice Department has charged at least two others with threatening election officials in Arizona, where supporters of former President Donald Trump have focused anger over his loss.
