ATLANTA (AP) — An Alabama man who left threatening phone messages for Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis and the county sheriff last summer because he was angry over an investigation into former President Donald Trump was sentenced Tuesday to nearly two years in prison. Arthur Ray Hanson II, of Huntsville, made the phone calls just over a week before Trump and 18 others were indicted in Fulton County in August 2023 over efforts to overturn the 2020 presidential election. Federal prosecutors say Hanson left voicemails laced with profanity and racial slurs for Willis and Fulton County Sheriff Pat Labat.
U.S. District Judge J.
P. Boulee in Atlanta said he found Hanson’s behavior “appalling" and that the victims’ fear was “real and legitimate.” He sentenced Hanson to serve a year and nine months in prison, followed by three years of supervised release.
He also ordered Hanson to pay a fine of $7,500. Hanson had pleaded guilty in June to leaving threatening phone messages. Speaking for nearly 10 minutes during Tuesday's hearing, Hanson was tearful as he apologized to Willis and Labat.
“I'm truly sorry for making those phone calls,” he said. “That is not who I am.” Willis told the judge that the threats left her fearing not only for herself but for the lives of her daughters and her father.
Before she's the district attorney, she's a mom, she told the judge: “Mom was really scared.” Labat also briefly addressed the court, saying the threats exposed hi.