(NewsNation) — An Alabama man faces up to 25 years in prison after he was arrested on Wednesday for allegedly sending threatening Instagram messages to Arizona election officials after claiming election fraud in the state’s 2022 gubernatorial race, federal prosecutors said.
Brian J. Ogstad, 59, has been charged with five counts of communicating an interstate threat by the U.S. Department of Justice. Federal prosecutors allege Ogstad sent multiple messages to a social media account run the Maricopa County Elections Board. The messages included threats that officials will “executed for your crimes”.
The primary election, which was held in August 2022, included voting for several local and statewide officials, including for governor. Katie Hobbs defeated Republican Kari Lake in that race, which received national media coverage with Lake repeatedly claiming voter fraud after being defeated.
Prosecutors said Ogstad allegedly sent the threats between Aug. 2-4 to an Instagram account maintained by the county. In the messages, Ogstad allegedly wrote, “You did it. You are f—- Dead.” and also wrote, “(F—) you!” You are caught. They have it all. You f—- are dead.”
“The work of election officials, their staffs, and volunteers is essential to our democracy and any threat to these public servants is completely unacceptable,” FBI Special Agent Akil Davis said. Wednesday. “The FBI remains vigilant in our efforts to detect and assess possible threats and, as always, we encourage the public to promptly report suspicious activities which could represent a threat to public safety.”
Prosecutors also claim Ogstad referred to the election officials in other messages as “lying and cheating” and allegedly warned officials against coming to his church, his business, or sending their kids to his school. In another message, he reportedly wrote that the election officials were frauds and had committed treason.
“You will all be executed. Bang,” he wrote in one message, according to prosecutors.
The FBI in Arizona and Alabama continue to investigate the matter after Ogstad made his first appearance in court in Alabama on Wednesday following his arrest.
“We cannot permit election skeptics to threaten vigilante justice,” Gary M. Restaino, U.S. Attorney for the District of Arizona said Wednesday. “We will continue to prosecute true threats against Arizona’s election officials and other public servants, including direct messages sent on social media, or communications in any other format.”
