Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis testifies during a hearing on the Georgia election interference case, Thursday, Feb. 15, 2024, in Atlanta. The hearing is to determine whether Willis should be removed from the case because of a relationship with Nathan Wade, a special prosecutor she hired in the election interference case against former President Donald Trump. (Alyssa Pointer/Pool Photo via AP)
A California man is accused of posting death threats in YouTube livestreams against Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis, saying she “will be killed like a dog” for prosecuting former President Donald Trump in his election interference conspiracy case, prosecutors said.
Marc Shultz, 66, was indicted by a federal grand jury on April 24, authorities said. Shultz was charged with transmitting interstate threats to injure Willis because of her prosecution of Trump, prosecutors said in a news release.
“Sending death threats to a public official is a criminal offense that will not be tolerated,” said U.S. Attorney Ryan K. Buchanan. “Our office will continue to diligently coordinate with our federal, state, and local law enforcement partners to help protect public officials while performing their duties and who deserve to do so free from threats of harm and intimidation.”
Last October, Shultz allegedly posted multiple comments to two YouTube livestream videos, prosecutors said. In one statement, he allegedly said she “will be killed like a dog,” authorities said.
Shultz made his initial appearance in federal court in Southern California on Friday. He’s set to be formally arraigned in Atlanta in June.
In a statement, Willis said:
“On the same day Senator Bill Cowsert had the audacity to question whether an elected African American female District Attorney deserves protection from death threats, the United States Attorney and the FBI announced another indictment of someone who threatened my life. I thank US Attorney Ryan Buchanan, his staff and the FBI for believing the life of an African American elected official has value and for their diligent efforts in ensuring the safety of myself, my staff, and our families.”
Willis’ office has charged Trump and 18 co-defendants in a Georgia’s Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations (RICO) conspiracy, alleging they conspired to unlawfully change the outcome of the 2020 presidential election in favor of Trump.
Law&Crime has covered the twists and turns of the unprecedented case as the defense has been angling to have Willis and her office removed from the case since January — initially over allegations that her romantic relationship with now-former lead prosecutor Nathan Wade created a conflict of interest due to pecuniary motives. His attorneys and eight other co-defendants appealed the decision to keep her on the case in March.
Most recently, Trump’s defense attorneys told the judge in the case that two charges must be thrown out because Willis had gone too far to “criminalize the conduct alleged.”
Defense attorney Steven Sadow implored Fulton County Superior Court Judge Scott McAfee to find that the two challenged charges exceed the state’s jurisdiction, since those counts related to documents filed in federal courts.
Matt Naham and Colin Kalmbacher contributed to this report.
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