PHOENIX — A Massachusetts man was arrested Friday for allegedly threatening to bomb the Arizona Secretary of State's Office last year during the fallout of Donald Trump's contested loss in the state.
James W. Clark, 38, of Falmouth is accused of sending threatening messages in February 2021 to the office's elections division.
According to the U.S. Attorney's Office, Clark's message stated: "Your attorney general needs to resign by Tuesday February 16th by 9 am or the explosive device impacted in her personal space will be detonated.”
Prosecutors additionally accuse Clark of making internet searches for the addresses of elected officials and information on the Boston Marathon bombing incident in 2013.
“Illegal threats of violence put election officials and workers at risk and undermine the bedrock of our democracy: free and fair elections,” said Assistant Attorney General Kenneth A. Polite, Jr. of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division.
If convicted, Clark faces a maximum penalty of up to 10 years in prison for making the bomb threat.
Secretary of State Katie Hobbs, whose running for governor, has been vocal about the threats she's allegedly received for upholding Joe Biden's victory in Arizona after the 2020 presidential election.
Since Hobbs' office is charged with overseeing Arizona's elections, the Democratic elected official was often the target of attacks from those who refused to accept the election's results.
She's previously mentioned death threats she's received for criticizing a Republican-led review of Maricopa County's ballots from the 2020 election.
In one instance, Hobbs claimed a man called her office saying that she deserved to die and asked what she was wearing to better identify her.
Last summer, the Department of Justice assembled a task force to specifically address violence and threats against election workers.
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