Phoenix court gives jail time for threats against US leaders | Arizona News

PHOENIX, Ariz. (KVOA) – A man from Albuquerque has been sentenced for making online threats against former President Biden and Vice President Harris. Michael David Hanson, 44, was sentenced to 27 months in prison on March 2 by a U.S. District Judge in Phoenix.

Hanson pleaded guilty to making threats against the president and successors to the presidency. He will also face three years of supervised release following his prison term.

On December 22, 2023, Hanson posted a threatening message directed at President Biden and Vice President Harris on the social media platform X, which read, “#joeAndKamala I’m asking you to resign on Monday your alternative is death brutally murdered…” Hanson admitted to intending to communicate a threat of violence.

“Online death threats made against leaders of the United States are criminal acts, not protected speech,” U.S. Attorney Timothy Courchaine said. “The U.S. Secret Service and Phoenix Police Department are to be commended for quickly identifying and arresting Mr. Hanson, whose 27-month sentence should serve as a warning that there are real-world consequences for threatening elected officials.”

”The U.S. Secret Service has zero tolerance for threats against our protectees. Let this serve as a warning. If you threaten the President of the United States, we will find you, we will arrest you and you will face justice,” William Mack, the Special Agent in Charge of the U.S. Secret Service’s Phoenix Field Office, said. “We want to thank the Phoenix Police Department as well as the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Arizona for their assistance in this case.”

The U.S. Secret Service and Phoenix Police Department conducted the investigation, and the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Arizona in Phoenix handled the prosecution.