The sentencing took place on Monday, following Russell's guilty plea to charges of sending menacing messages to Hobbs, who was serving as Arizona's Secretary of State at the time, between August 2 and November 15, 2022.
During this period, Hobbs was not only the chief election officer of the state but also a gubernatorial candidate, running against Kari Lake, a staunch ally of former President Donald Trump. Prosecutors revealed that Russell made multiple calls to the Arizona Secretary of State's office, threatening to murder Hobbs.
In his threats, Russell labeled Hobbs a traitor, warned her of an impending "war," accused her of being a communist, and alleged that she was involved in election fraud. The Department of Justice quoted Russell's first call, where he said, "This message is for traitor [Ms Hobbs]. You’ve drug your feet, you’ve done nothing, to protect our election for 2020. You’re committing election fraud, you’re starting to do it again, from day one. You’re the enemy of the United States, you’re a traitor to this country, and you better put your sh[inaudible], your [expletive] affairs in order, ’cause your days [inaudible] are extremely numbered. America’s coming for you, and you will pay with your life, you communist [expletive] traitor [expletive].”
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Following Hobbs' victory over Lake in the gubernatorial race, Russell continued his threats, once again promising to kill her and labeling her a traitor and a criminal. He stated, “This message is for communist, criminal, [Ms Hobbs]. We will not endure your crimes on America another day. You’ve been busted, over and over again. We will not wait for you to be drugged through court. A war is coming for you. The entire nation is coming for you. And we will stop, at no end, until you are in the ground. You’re a traitor to this nation. You’re a [expletive] piece of [expletive] communist, and you just signed your own death warrant. Get your affairs in order, cause, your days are very short.”
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U.S. District Judge Steven Logan acknowledged Russell's efforts to seek therapy and rehabilitation for substance abuse following his arrest. However, he deemed a prison term necessary due to the severity of the threats made against Hobbs.
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In a written statement presented to the court, Russell confessed to being a recluse, engrossed in political forums and discussions on social media. He admitted to using the vitriol of the US’s political landscape as a vent for his suppressed anger. He wrote, “All I did was hide in bed all day scrolling thru social media and political forums – looking at blogs or anything that could serve as an outlet for my pent up anger combined with all the pain I was suppressing.”
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