WASHINGTON — The Justice Department on Friday charged a Texas man with publicly calling for the killing of Georgia’s election officials the day before the Jan. 6 attack on the Capitol.
The case is the first brought up by the department’s Election Threats Task Force, an agency set up last summer to tackle threats against elections and poll workers. Federal prosecutors charged the man, Chad Christopher Stark, 54, of Leander, Texas, with ordering the Georgia Patriots to “put a bullet in” a Georgia election official, who the indictment refers to as Officer A.
According to the three-page indictment, Mr. Stark made the threat in a post on Craigslist, the online forum while then-President Donald J. Trump and his allies were pressuring Brad Raffensperger, Georgia Secretary of State who accused Joseph R. Biden Jr. certified the defeat of Mr. Trump in Georgia.
“Georgia Patriots, it is time we took back our state from these outlaw, traitorous traitors,” Mr. Stark wrote, according to the indictment. “It’s time to invoke our Second Amendment, it’s time to put a bullet in the treacherous Chinese [Official A]. Then we work our way down [Official B] the local and federal corrupt judges.”
Mr. Stark was charged with transmitting interstate threats in one case.
The Craigslist release comes at a moment of intense political pressure on election officials in battleground states. Mr. Trump had called Mr. Raffensperger on Jan. 2 last year and demanded that he “find” nearly 12,000 votes to overturn Mr. Biden’s victory in Georgia. The post was published on Jan. 5, a day before a Trump-inspired crowd attacked the United States Capitol to prevent Congress from confirming Mr. Biden as the next president.
On Thursday, an Atlanta district attorney asked a judge to convene a special grand jury to assist a criminal investigation into Mr Trump’s attempts to overturn Georgia’s 2020 election results. If the probe continues, legal experts say the former president’s potential criminal exposure could include charges of racketeering or conspiracy to commit voter fraud.
Mr. Raffensperger did not confirm on Friday whether he was one of the attacked election officials.
“I strongly condemn threats against poll workers and volunteers during elections,” he said in a statement. “These are the people who make our democracy work.”
Kenneth A. Polite Jr., the chief of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division, said Friday that the task force is reviewing over 850 reports of threats against poll officials and has opened dozens of criminal investigations.
During the 2020 election cycle and immediately after, “election officials came under unprecedented verbal attacks for doing nothing but their job,” Mr Polite told reporters on Friday. “As the Attorney General and Deputy Attorney General have both previously emphasized, we will not tolerate intimidation of those who protect our electoral system.”
The task force, established last June by Assistant Attorney General Lisa O. Monaco, developed a system to log and track all reported threats against poll workers and FBI agents, and federal prosecutors have been trained to record, evaluate and adjudicate the allegations investigate. Mr Polite said the task force has prioritized finding ways to improve security for state and local poll workers.
The Texas case marks the task force’s first indictment and arrest. Mr. Polite declined to elaborate on what Mr. Stark might have planned.
“The communications here speak for themselves,” Mr. Polite said, referring to Mr. Stark’s Craigslist post that offered $10,000 and called on “patriots” to “destroy these people.”
In addition to the two Georgia election officials, Mr. Stark’s post on Craigslist also threatened a third Georgia official.
He wrote: “Militia to Georgia, it’s time to shed blood…. we have to pay a visit [Official C] and her family and put a bullet behind her ears.”
An aide to Stacey Abrams, the Georgia Democrat running for governor, said he didn’t know if Ms. Abrams was an officer of C.
Threats against Georgia’s election officials continued long after the state completed counting and recounting votes in its 2020 presidential campaign. Two low-level workers who have been falsely accused by Mr Trump and his right-wing media allies of counting fraudulent votes have sued the Gateway Pandit website, One America News Network and Rudolph W. Giuliani, Mr Trump’s attorney, because they have spread lies about their behavior.
Mr. Raffensperger, a Republican, has faced significant criticism from Trump allies for confirming Mr. Biden’s victory. He faces a major challenge this year from Georgia Rep. Jody Hice, who has adopted many of Mr Trump’s false claims about the election.
Mr. Stark could not be reached for comment. His first court appearance was Friday afternoon in Austin, Texas, and the judge appointed federal public defenders to represent him. He was released on bail and his arraignment is scheduled for February 4 in Atlanta. Mr. Stark faces up to five years in prison if convicted.
Katie Benner contributed to the coverage. Kirsten Noyes made a research contribution.
