Skip to main content

Voting and Elections

Election Threats

If you know of suspected threats or acts of violence against election workers, please let us know. If someone is in imminent danger or risk of harm, contact 911 or your local police immediately.

Report threats against election workers to the FBI

Remote video URL
Watch Justice Briefs: Election Threats on YouTube.


Learn how the Department of Justice is working to protect our elections and the public servants who facilitate them.

Election Threats Task Force

The Election Threats Task Force leads the Department’s efforts to address violence against election workers and to ensure that all election workers—whether elected, appointed, or volunteer—are able to do their jobs free from threats and intimidation.

Announced by Attorney General Garland and launched by Deputy Attorney General Monaco in June 2021, the task force engages with the election community and state and local law enforcement to assess allegations and reports of threats against election workers and, where appropriate, has investigated and prosecuted these matters in partnership with FBI Field Offices and U.S. Attorneys’ Offices throughout the country. 

The Task Force is led by the Criminal Division’s Public Integrity Section and includes several other entities within the Department of Justice, including the Criminal Division’s Computer Crime and Intellectual Property Section, the Civil Rights Division, the National Security Division, and the FBI, as well as key interagency partners, including the U.S. Postal Inspection Service and the Department of Homeland Security.

Training and Community Engagement

Since its formation, the Task Force has organized or participated in more than 100 meetings, presentations, and trainings about protecting election workers, including with elections officials, non-governmental organizations, and state and local law enforcement. In addition, the Task Force has worked with FBI Field Offices and U.S. Attorneys’ Offices to build capacity and expertise to investigate and prosecute threats to election workers.

Reporting a Threat to Election Workers

The public can play a crucial role in reporting suspected threats or acts of violence against election workers. To report suspected threats or violent acts, contact the FBI at 1-800-CALL-FBI (225-5324), or file an online complaint at tips.fbi.gov. Complaints submitted will be reviewed by the task force and referred for investigation or response accordingly. If someone is in imminent danger or risk of harm, contact 911 or local police immediately.

Background image of flags with the FBI Seal in the bottom right corner: Text: A threat to an election worker or volunteer is a threat to democracy. Visit tips.fbi.gov to report threats to election workers.

Recent Task Force Cases

As of May 2024, the Department has announced the following enforcement actions involving threats to the election community:

  1. United States v. Solomon Pena et al. (District of New Mexico): Charged with conspiracy, interference with federally protected activities through violence, and firearms offenses for an alleged shooting spree targeting the homes of elected officials and a candidate for office. Jose Louise Trujillo is scheduled for sentencing on July 24, 2024. Demetrio Trujillo is scheduled for sentencing on Aug. 6, 2024.
  2. United States v. Katelyn Jones (Eastern District of Michigan): Sentenced to 30 days in prison on Jan. 16, 2024 for sending multiple threatening communications to a Michigan election official in the wake of the 2020 election.
  3. United States v. Chad Stark (Northern District of Georgia): Sentenced to 2 years in prison on Nov. 29, 2023 after pleading guilty to posting a message online threatening several Georgia public officials following the 2020 election.
  4. United States v. Travis Ford (District of Nebraska): Sentenced to 18 months in prison on Oct. 6, 2022 for making multiple threatening posts on an Instagram page associated with a Colorado election official.
  5. United States v. James Clark (District of Arizona): Sentenced to 3.5 years in prison on March 12, 2024 for sending a communication containing a bomb threat to an election official in the Arizona Secretary of State’s office.
  6. United States v. Walter Lee Hoornstra (Western District of Missouri): Charged with allegedly leaving a voicemail containing a threat on the personal cell phone of an election official in the Maricopa County Recorder’s Office in Maricopa County, Arizona.
  7. United States v. Mark Rissi (District of Arizona): Sentenced to 2.5 years in prison on Aug. 28, 2023 for sending threatening communications to an election official on the Maricopa County Board of Supervisors and to an official with the Office of the Arizona Attorney General.
  8. United States v. Joshua Lubitz (Southern District of Florida): Sentenced to 18 months of home detention on July 24, 2023 for threatening poll workers for aiding voters.
  9. United States v. Frederick Goltz (Northern District of Texas): Sentenced to 3.5 years in prison on Aug. 2, 2023 for suggesting a “mass shooting of poll workers” and threatening two Maricopa County officials and their children.
  10. United States v. Gary Koch (Western District of Kentucky): Sentenced to 2 years' probation on Sept. 19, 2023 for mailing a threat to a political candidate.
  11. United States v. Jessica Higginbotham (Middle District of Georgia): Sentenced to 18 months in prison on July 31, 2023 for sending a threatening message to bomb the local headquarters of a political party the day before U.S. Senators from Georgia were in town for campaign events.
  12. United States v. Joshua Russell (District of Arizona): Sentenced to 2 1/2 years in prison on March 25, 2024 for sending threatening communications to an election official with the Arizona Secretary of State’s Office.
  13. United States v. Andrew Nickels (Eastern District of Michigan): Pleaded guilty to sending a communication that included a threat of violence to an election worker in Michigan. Sentencing is scheduled for July 9, 2024.
  14. United States v. Quintez Brown (Western District of Kentucky): Charged with one count of interference with federally protected activities through violence and one count of discharge of a firearm during a crime of violence.
  15. United States v. William Hyde (Southern District of California): Charged with one count of communicating an interstate threat for allegedly leaving a voicemail containing a violent threat on the personal cell phone of an election official with the Maricopa County Recorder’s Office in Phoenix, Arizona.
  16. United States vs. Brian Ogstad (District of Arizona): Charged with allegedly sending threatening messages to election workers with Maricopa County Elections in Phoenix, Arizona.

All defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.

The list of cases above does not include a defendant who was charged and acquitted after a jury trial.

Updated May 13, 2024