Left: Donald Trump’s Fulton County Jail mug shot (Fulton County Sheriff’s Office); Right: Fulton County DA Fani Willis (AP Photo/John Bazemore, File)
An Alabama man has pleaded guilty to making threats against Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis over her racketeering (RICO) prosecution of convicted felon and former president, Donald Trump.
Arthur Ray Hanson II, 58, accepted legal culpability for his actions before Magistrate Judge Regina D. Cannon in Atlanta on Tuesday.
As Law&Crime previously reported, the defendant made a series of threatening phone calls to both Willis and Fulton County Sheriff Patrick “Pat” Labat — just over a week before the 45th president was criminally indicted for the fourth time.
“I’m not a lawbreaker,” Hanson told the court, according to a courtroom report by the Atlanta Journal-Constitution. “I just lost it.”
What set Hanson off, specifically, about the last of those several indictments was the fact that only the Peach State’s case was going to — and ultimately did — result in the release of Trump’s booking photo or mug shot. Trump had previously been indicted twice federally and once before in New York State but neither of those systems released booking photos to the public. Georgia’s law favors transparency.
“[I]f you take a mugshot of the President and you’re the reason it happened, some bad s–––t’s gonna happen to you,”” Hanson told the sheriff. “I’m warning you right now before you f––– up your life and get hurt real bad.”
The defendant said he did not care that Labat was law enforcement.
“[W]hether you got a goddamn badge or not ain’t gonna help you none,” Hanson said on the voicemail for the sheriff, adding: “[Y]ou gonna get f–––ed up you keep f–––ing with my President.”
In a voicemail left for Willis on Fulton County’s customer service line, the threats were more detailed but less specific.
The federal indictment reads, at length:
HANSON made statements, which included, but were not limited to, the following: “watch it when you’re going to the car at night, when you’re going into your house, watch everywhere that you’re going;” “I would be very afraid if I were you because you can’t be around people all the time that are going to protect you;” “there’s gonna be moments when you’re gonna be vulnerable;” “when you charge Trump on that fourth indictment, anytime you’re alone, be looking over your shoulder;” and “what you put out there, b––––, comes back at you ten times harder, and don’t ever forget it.”
On Aug. 6, 2023, Hanson made the phone calls.
On Aug. 14, 2023, Trump and 18 others were indicted on RICO and election subversion charges in Fulton County.
On Oct. 25, 2023, Hanson was indicted on two counts of sending threatening interstate communications in the Northern District of Georgia.
On Thursday, before the magistrate, the defendant confessed.
“I made a stupid phone call,” Hanson said. “I’m not a violent person.”
The defendant also pleaded a bit of ignorance about the law.
“I never dreamed the FBI would show up at my house … I didn’t knowingly know I was threatening anybody,” Hanson told Cannon. “To me, it was a warning.”
That statement went to the heart of the charges and prompted a quick recess, the Journal-Constitution reported. After the break, the defendant got things back on track by saying he understood and agreed that the government could prove the elements of the charges against him.
Hanson faces a potential five-year sentence but Assistant U.S. Attorney Bret Hobson told the court the government would be seeking leniency because of the admission of guilt in the case. His sentencing will occur before U.S. District Judge J.P. Boulee at a later date.
During another colloquy, the magistrate asked Hanson if he was the one who had said the things in the phone calls.
“I guess,” the defendant first glumly replied.
The judge did not accept that and asked again.
On the second go-round, Hansons responded: “Yes, ma’am.”
Matt Naham contributed to this report.
Have a tip we should know? [email protected]
