Las Cruces man sentenced, fined for threatened member of US Congress
A Las Cruces man who left a threatening voicemail for a U.S. Congresswoman was sentenced to 1 year in jail this week.
Michael David Fox will spend 1 year and one day in prison following his guilty plea to a charge of interstate transmission of threatening communication in September.
Fox admitted to agents with the Federal Bureau of Investigation that he called the office of a Houston, Texas Congresswoman in May 2023. On her voicemail he left a message calling her a "tranny and pedophile." In the message Fox also threatened gun violence.
The name of the member of Congress was not made public.
According to a news release from the U.S. Department of Justice, when FBI agents interviewed Fox at his home in Las Cruces he claimed "transgender individuals had infiltrated the government and other institutions," leading the court to add a hate crime enhancement to his sentence.
"While everyone is entitled to believe irrational ideas, no belief entitles someone to threaten violence," said U.S. Attorney Alexander Uballez.
"Hate crimes drive division and fear and we have no room for either. Federal law enforcement will stand up for our community by delivering very real consequences to very real threats, even when they are driven by fantasy."
FBI agents traced the call to a cellular account in Las Cruces, according to the criminal complaint against Fox. According to the complaint, Fox doesn't own any guns, but did reference his belief in Q Anon conspiracy theories.
Fox will also pay a $4,000 and once released from prison will serve 3 years of probation.
Jessica Onsurez can be reached at jonsurez@gannett.com.
This article originally appeared on Las Cruces Sun-News: Phone threats against US Congresswoman land Las Cruces man in prison
