Joe.My.God. LGBT News
AlterNet reports:
A man who left a message threatening to kill Rep. Eric Swalwell (D-California) and his staff with AR-15 rifles is now seeking to become Swalwell’s colleague in the US House of Representatives.
23-year-old Joshua Hall of Mechanicsburg, Pennsylvania — who was sentenced to 20 months in federal prison in 2022 for making threats to kill a member of the United States Congress — filed his official candidacy papers with the Federal Election Commission on Friday evening.
“I deserve a second chance as anybody does, and I still want to be able to make a positive impact,” Hall said, who is on probation through 2026.
From the DOJ’s October 2022 press release:
HALL previously pled guilty to wire fraud for impersonating family members of the then-President of the United States on social media to fraudulently raise funds for a fictitious political organization (the “Fraud Scheme”).
At the time HALL made the threats to kill a member of the United States Congress, he was on pretrial release pending sentencing for the Fraud Scheme. HALL was arrested the same day the threats were made and was subsequently ordered detained pending sentencing.
On a telephone call with Staff Member-1 and Staff Member-2, HALL stated, in substance and in part, that he had a lot of AR-15s; that he wanted to shoot the Congressman; that he intended to come to the Congressman’s office with firearms; and that if he saw the Congressman, he would kill him.
He further stated, in substance and in part, that he wanted to “beat the shit out of” the Congressman and that he would find the Congressman wherever he was and hurt him.
On a telephone call with Staff Member-3, HALL stated, in substance and in part, that he intended to come to the Congressman’s office to kill the Congressman with firearms.
This is absurd. Hall threatened to kill me with an assault weapon in Aug ‘22 and spends barely a year in prison. Yet non-violent drug offenders are locked up for years. Our system must make clear you will serve a long sentence — not run for office — when you threaten violence. https://t.co/r5bFEYW6l5
— Rep. Eric Swalwell (@RepSwalwell) January 6, 2024
SCOOP: Joshua Hall, who was convicted of threatening to kill Rep. Eric Swalwell, has filed with the FEC to run for Congress in Pennsylvania’s 11th district.
“I deserve a second chance as anybody does, and I still want to be able to make a positive impact,” he told me.
— Katherine Swartz (@kv_swartz) January 5, 2024
Hall served 20 months in prison for the threat and for impersonating family members of then-Pres. Trump, including his minor son Barron, raising over $7,000 in funds used to pay for alcohol and living expenses, according to court documents. He is on probation through 2026.
— Katherine Swartz (@kv_swartz) January 5, 2024