Nevada man charged with threatening state election worker
U.S. federal agents arrested a Nevada man for threatening a state election worker last year and telling her that she was “going to f------ die” for stealing the 2020 presidential election from Donald Trump, the Justice Department said on Thursday, the second arrest in a week by its election threats task force.
Gjergi Luke Juncaj, 50, of Las Vegas was taken into custody on Wednesday and appeared in federal court in Nevada on Thursday, charged with four counts of making threatening phone calls, the Justice Department said in a statement. If convicted, he faces a maximum penalty of two years in prison on each count.
The Justice Department’s election threats task force was announced last June, shortly after Reuters published the first in a series of investigative reports that have documented more than 850 threats and menacing messages to U.S. election workers, including about 100 that legal experts say could be prosecuted under federal law.
Almost all of the threats have been inspired by Trump’s relentless false claims that the 2020 vote was “rigged” against him, Reuters found.
Justice Department officials say they are now investigating dozens of similar cases. The task force revealed its first arrest on Jan. 21, when it charged a Texas man with making violent threats against Georgia election and government officials. Prosecutors accused Chad Christopher Stark of posting a Craigslist message on Jan. 5, 2021 entitled, “Georgia Patriots it’s time to kill.” Reuters couldn’t reach Stark, who will appear in court on Feb. 4.
https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/nevada-man-charged-threatening-state-election-worker-rcna13920