California man accused of making threats against election official in Arizona after 2022 vote
A San Diego man who prosecutors say threatened Maricopa County Recorder Stephen Richer was arrested Thursday.
William Hyde, 52, has been charged with one count of communicating an interstate threat and could face five years behind bars.
He is accused of leaving a threatening voicemail on Richer's personal cell phone the day after the county's Board of Supervisors unanimously voted to certify the results of the November 2022 election.
Richer, a Republican, spoke at the meeting. It lasted about four hours and was filled with conspiracy allegations, outbursts and threats from the audience.
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Hyde told Richer to "run" and "hide," according to U.S. Department of Justice officials.
"You wanna cheat our elections," the voicemail said. "You wanna screw Americans out of true votes? We’re coming, [expletive]. You’d better [expletive] hide."
The voicemail is one of a slew of threats directed at Arizona election officials over voting conspiracies in the aftermath of recent elections.
Richer said this is the third time federal officials have pursued a criminal indictment against one of his harassers. Last year, a Texas man was sentenced by a federal judge to 3 1/2 years in prison for threatening Richer, County Attorney's Civil Division Chief Tom Liddy and their families. A Missouri man was indicted by a grand jury in August 2022 for allegedly telling Richer in a voicemail that he would "never make it to your next little board meeting."
"The completely foreseeable consequences of 'leaders' repeatedly lying about elections," Richer posted on social media on Thursday evening in response to Hyde's arrest. "Thanks, as always, to law enforcement for enforcing the law."
The harassment has caused some election officials in the state to leave their posts abruptly or decline to run for reelection.
Two Maricopa County supervisors — Republicans Bill Gates and Clint Hickman — have said they won't seek another term in office this year following election-related threats. Richer is seeking reelection to his seat.
Department of Justice officials say "aggressively" prosecuting the threats is a top priority.
"We will not tolerate criminal intimidation of those who administer and safeguard our elections," said Acting Assistant Attorney General Nicole M. Argentieri of the agency's criminal division.
Sasha Hupka covers county government and elections for The Arizona Republic. Do you have a tip on voting and democracy? Reach her at sasha.hupka@arizonarepublic.com. Follow her on X, formerly Twitter: @SashaHupka. Follow her on Instagram or Threads: @sashahupkasnaps.
This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: California man accused of threatening election official in Arizona
