LUBBOCK, TEXAS: A 52-year-old man from Lubbock, Texas, has been sentenced to three and a half years in federal prison for his involvement in advocating a mass shooting of poll workers and issuing threats against two officials from Arizona, along with their children. This announcement was made by prosecutors on Friday, August 4.
Earlier this year, Frederick Francis Goltz from Texas also pleaded guilty due to his engagement in interstate threatening communications. US District Judge James Wesley Hendrix presided over the sentencing on August 3. In addition to the prison term, Judge Hendrix mandated three years of supervised release to follow.
‘The children are the most important message to send’
The United States witnessed a distressing surge in threats directed at election officials, a concerning trend that gained momentum after former President Donald Trump baselessly alleged that the 2020 election had been unlawfully taken from him. This barrage of threats led to a significant departure of election officials from their positions, consequently impeding the recruitment of poll workers.
According to court records, Goltz targeted various individuals with threats, utilizing far-right social media platforms for his communications. Among his targets were a legal practitioner associated with the Maricopa County Attorney’s Office and an official responsible for elections in Maricopa County.
In the plea documents submitted to the court, Goltz openly acknowledged his actions. He confessed that on November 21, 2022, he took to social media to post the name, home address, and telephone number of the aforementioned lawyer. Accompanying this information, Goltz wrote, "It would be a shame if someone got to this children." On that same day, in reaction to another online post that mentioned additional Maricopa County officials, Goltz penned, "Someone needs to get these people AND their children. The children are the most important message to send".
‘He’s got a wife that is a lawyer, too’
The prosecution's case relied on court records that demonstrated Goltz's actions in subsequent days. Just two days following the initial incidents, Goltz engaged with a post discussing the elections official. He commented, "He’s got a WIFE that is a lawyer, too. We need to find out her name and where she works. I don’t think he has kids, but I’m not 100% on that." When another user asserted that children should be excluded from such discussions, Goltz responded with unequivocal disregard, stating, "NOTHING is off limits."
According to prosecutors, a comprehensive FBI investigation into Goltz's activities unveiled an extensive track record of him issuing threats against a diverse range of individuals. Court records corroborate that in November 2022, Goltz went so far as to advocate for what can only be described as a disturbing act: "a mass shooting of poll workers and election officials." This alarming call to violence was targeted at specific precincts that he deemed to have yielded "suspect" results in the elections.
