Man mad over Trump mugshot threatened Georgia sheriff, feds say. Now, he gets prison
A man initially denied threatening to hurt the sheriff and district attorney of Fulton County, Georgia, when FBI agents approached him about two menacing voicemail messages he left for them, according to federal prosecutors.
After the agents played the recordings for Arthur Ray Hanson II, Hanson said “he was angry” about the indictment of former President Donald Trump in Fulton County and “only intended to curse out” Sheriff Patrick “Pat” Labat and District Attorney Fani Willis, prosecutors wrote in court filings.
In one of the voicemail messages Hanson left over the county’s customer services line on Aug. 6 — two weeks before Trump’s mugshot was taken at the Fulton County Jail — he warned Labat that he may “get hurt real bad” if the photo was taken, according to prosecutors, McClatchy News previously reported.
In a voicemail directed toward Willis, Hanson warned her against indicting Trump and said “I would be very afraid if I were you…,” prosecutors said.
The threats caused Labat and Willis to increase security measures for themselves and their families, according to prosecutors.
Now, a judge has sentenced Hanson, 59, of Huntsville, Alabama, to one year and nine months in prison on a charge of transmitting interstate threats and ordered him to pay a $7,500 fine, the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of Georgia said in an Oct. 29 news release. On July 3, Hanson pleaded guilty to the federal offense.
“It is inconceivable this defendant felt entitled and empowered to threaten me for simply doing my job as the sheriff,” Labat told McClatchy News in an emailed statement Oct. 30. “His reprehensible behavior was investigated, and he has been held accountable.
“I am pleased that he has taken responsibility for his actions by pleading guilty,” Labat said. “I have trusted the federal judicial system to see this case through and hope this outcome serves as a warning to anyone else that might want to take similar actions.”
Timothy Mays, one of Hanson’s defense attorneys, told McClatchy News in an emailed statement on Oct. 30 that “Hanson has regrets and he has been working through his issues. He acknowledges that everyone deserves safety in the performance of their job.”
Ahead of sentencing, Hanson’s legal counsel argued in support of a sentence that didn’t involve incarceration, or a sentence that would allow him to serve time in home confinement, court filings show.
In a sentencing memorandum, his counsel wrote Hanson has struggled with substance abuse, mental health and other health issues.
“While (Hanson) is a staunch Republican and supporter of President Trump, he acknowledges his actions were wrong regardless of the political and First Amendment overtones in this case,” the sentencing memorandum says.
In response, prosecutors noted in their own court filing that one month after Hanson promised FBI agents he wouldn’t make more calls, Hanson called the New Jersey Office of Homeland Security and Preparedness’ tip line and said U.S. Secretary of Homeland Security Alejandro Mayorkas “should be hanged.”
According to prosecutors, Hanson has made prior threats, including in 2018 when he was convicted in connection with leaving threatening voicemails for a person at their business.
The threats against the sheriff and DA
The first voicemail Hanson left on Aug. 6, 2023, was for Labat, prosecutors said.
“If you think you gonna take a mugshot of my President Donald Trump and it’s gonna be ok, you gonna find out that after you take that mugshot, some bad (expletive is) probably gonna happen to you,” the message said in part, according to prosecutors.
“I’m warning you right now before you (expletive) up your life and get hurt real bad. … Whether you got a (expletive) badge or not ain’t gonna help you none.”
Then he directed another voicemail toward Willis, according to prosecutors, and told her in part: “Watch it when you’re going to the car at night, when you’re going into your house, watch everywhere that you’re going. … I would be very afraid if I were you because you can’t be around people all the time that are going to protect you.”
The voicemails followed media reports about Willis conducting a grand jury investigation into Trump, prosecutors said.
McClatchy News contacted the Fulton County Sheriff’s Office and district attorney’s office for comment on Oct. 30 and didn’t receive immediate responses.
“Public servants have a responsibility to enforce our criminal laws, and anyone who threatens to harm or intimidate them will face the consequences of their actions,” U.S. Attorney Ryan K. Buchanan said in a statement.
On Aug. 24, 2023, Trump arrived at the Fulton County Jail to surrender to law enforcement in connection with 2020 election fraud charges, the sheriff’s office said in a news release that day.
In Fulton County, Trump and more than a dozen others are accused of trying to overturn the outcome of the 2020 presidential election in Georgia, NPR reported.
Fulton County Superior Judge Scott McAfee dismissed some of the counts against Trump and the other individuals — leaving Trump facing eight felony counts, according to the outlet.
Trump’s office didn’t immediately respond to McClatchy News’ request for comment Oct. 30.
This story was originally published October 30, 2024 at 12:21 PM with the headline "Man mad over Trump mugshot threatened Georgia sheriff, feds say. Now, he gets prison."
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