A California man has just felt the firm hand of the nation’s federal justice system after he was convicted for making threats to top Democrats.
David Allen Carrier, 44, threatened to physically harm former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Sec. Alejandro Mayorkas.
Carrier was ordered by a judge to serve 11 months in prison for the threatening voicemails he left for the two federal officials, according to The Hill.
Once that prison sentence has been completed, Carrier will also be required to serve three years of supervised release.
He must also abide by certain other conditions imposed by the court during that time.
According to a Justice Department press release, Carrier first called then-Speaker Pelosi’s office on Jan. 21, 2021, just two weeks after the Capitol riot.
He left a voicemail threatening physical assault against the Democrat congresswoman.
More than a year and a half later, the man similarly called a special hotline for the DHS and again left a voicemail message that threatened physical assault against Sec. Mayorkas.
Carrier was eventually indicted by a federal grand jury in September 2023.
He was charged with two counts of violating the federal statute 18 U.S.C. § 115(a)(1)(B).
That statute reads:
“Whoever –threatens to assault, kidnap, or murder, a United States official, a United States judge, a Federal law enforcement officer, or an official whose killing would be a crime under such section, with intent to impede, intimidate, or interfere with such official, judge, or law enforcement officer while engaged in the performance of official duties, or with intent to retaliate against such official, judge, or law enforcement officer on account of the performance of official duties, shall be punished as provided in subsection (b).”
Subsection (b) of the statute specifies in the relevant part that “A threat made in violation of this section shall be punished by a fine under this title or imprisonment for a term of not more than 10 years, or both, except that imprisonment for a threatened assault shall not exceed 6 years.”
Likely because Carrier pleaded guilty to the two charges against him in December, not to mention his admission that his threats were intended to interfere with the “official duties” of the two threatened officials, he appears to have received a far more lenient sentence from Senior U.S. District Judge William Alsup than the statute allowed for.
The judge chose not to impose any fine on the defendant and only ordered him to serve 11 months in prison.
The maximum sentence could have been as many as six years behind bars.
As for the three years of supervised release after the prison sentence was completed, that included a requirement that Carrier receive treatment for mental health and substance abuse.
He was also banned from trying to make contact with Pelosi or Mayorkas, among other conditions.
“Participating in the public political conversation is an important right for all citizens,” U.S. Attorney Ismail J. Ramsey said in the DOJ release.
“Nevertheless, threatening our public servants is not protected by the First Amendment and corrodes our ability to engage in peaceful and important public discourse.
“This Office will not tolerate behavior that crosses the line to criminal threats.”
FBI Special Agent in Charge Robert Tripp said in a statement, “Violent threats targeting elected officials also threaten our democratic system.
“Today’s sentence demonstrates that anyone who sends politically motivated threats of violence to government officials will be investigated by the FBI and held accountable.”
The U.S. Secret Service was also involved in investigating Carrier’s threats, and Special Agent in Charge Shawn Bradstreet stated in the press release:
“We take threats against a U.S. Secret Service protectee very seriously.
“This is a great example of the coordination and partnership between the U.S. Secret Service, the FBI, and the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of California to investigate and prosecute threats against our nation’s leaders.”
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