Arizona man gets prison time for death threats against Donald Trump and Kamala Harris

PHOENIX - An Arizona man convicted of threatening to kill President Donald Trump and former Vice President Kamala Harris has been sentenced to prison.

What we know:

Rene Ortiz, a 56-year-old Casa Grande man, was convicted on June 8 of two felony counts of making threats against successors to the presidency and one felony count of making threats against former presidents.

On Oct. 20, Ortiz was sentenced to 38 months in prison.

The backstory:

On Nov. 5, 2024, authorities say Ortiz delivered a written note to the federal courthouse in Phoenix that threatened to "execute the newly elected [President of the United States] by firing an M-16A2 service rifle with a magazine of 6 rounds." The threat was directed at both Trump and Harris.

Weeks later, authorities say Ortiz delivered a second threat to a federal courthouse in Tucson, saying that he would shoot "the incoming fraudulent elected [President of the United States] … at the inauguration on January 20th, 2025."

What they're saying:

"When interviewed by the U.S. Secret Service about the threats, Ortiz repeated his intent to make the threats; he was subsequently arrested on Jan. 17, 2025, ahead of the Presidential Inauguration," the United States Attorney's Office District of Arizona wrote in a news release.

Crime and Public SafetyDonald J. TrumpKamala Harris2024 ElectionPoliticsCasa GrandeNews