William Hyde, Communicating an Interstate Threat, California 2022

A California man has been arrested for allegedly leaving threatening messages on a Maricopa County election official's personal cell phone.

According to an indictment unsealed today, William Hyde, 52, of San Diego, left two voicemail messages on the personal cell phone of a victim election official on or about November 28, 2022.

The indictment alleges that Hyde accused the official of cheating the election and told the official to 'run' and 'hide.' Approximately one minute later, Hyde allegedly left a second voicemail message, stating 'You wanna cheat our elections? You wanna screw Americans out of true votes? We're coming, [expletive]. You'd better [expletive] hide.'

The FBI San Diego Field Office is investigating the case, with substantial assistance from the FBI Phoenix Field Office.

Hyde is charged with one count of communicating an interstate threat, which carries a maximum penalty of five years in prison if convicted.

The case is part of the Justice Department's Election Threats Task Force, which was launched in June 2021 to address threats of violence against election workers.

Hyde is scheduled to make his initial appearance tomorrow at the federal courthouse in San Diego.

As Acting Assistant Attorney General Nicole M. Argentieri noted, 'The Criminal Division is committed to aggressively investigating and prosecuting individuals who threaten election officials. We will not tolerate criminal intimidation of those who administer and safeguard our elections.'

Source: https://www.justice.gov/archives/opa/pr/man-arrested-making-threat-arizona-election-official