Ohio man gets 2.5 years in prison for death threats made in 2022 to Arizona’s top election official

An Ohio man who acknowledged making death threats in voicemails left for then-Arizona Secretary of State Katie Hobbs during the 2022 election season has been sentenced to 2 1/2 years in prison. Joshua Russell of Bucyrus, Ohio, had previously pleaded guilty in Phoenix to a federal charge of making an interstate threat against Hobbs. She is a Democrat who now serves as the state’s governor. The three voicemails left by Russell were among the countless threats made against Hobbs for her role in certifying Joe Biden’s 2020 presidential victory over Donald Trump in Arizona and her responsibility in running the 2022 midterm elections.