BUCYRUS—Joshua Russell, 44, of Bucyrus, is sitting in a Cleveland jail after death threats made to a newly elected Arizona Governor were traced back to his phone.
According to charges filed in the US District Court for Northern Ohio, allegations are that on three occasions, Russell left messages with the Arizona secretary of states office in which he threatened to injure or kill a specific individual.
The incidents occurred on three different occasions resulting in three separate federal charges for making interstate threats.
One of the voice messages left on August 2 with Arizona’s Secretary of State’s voicemail said:
“You’ve drug your feet, you’ve done nothing, to protect our election for 2020. You’re committing election fraud, you’re starting to do it again, from day one. You are the enemy of the United States you’re a traitor to this country and you better put your #$&*@#* affairs in order, cause your days are extremely numbered. America’s coming for you, you’ll pay with your life.”
Threats were left on the office voicemail on August 2, September 9, and November 14, just six days after Democrat Katie Hobbs defeated Trump-backed Republican Kari Lake. Hobbs was elected on November 14.
In the message left on November 15, the caller told recipients: “A war is coming for you. And we will stop at no end until you are in the ground. You’re a traitor to this nation. You just signed your own death warrant. Get your affairs in order ’cause your days are very short.”
The phone threats came from two phone numbers, one with a 419 area code and the other with a 567 area code. An investigation revealed that both numbers were linked to the same telephone, a TracFone first activated in March 2020. The phone was purchased with Russell’s debit card, according to the warrant.
On December 8, the FBI knocked on Russell Dudley Street’s door and spoke with him. The Bucyrus police and fire departments were on standby.
After Russell initially refused to answer the door and became belligerent, agents surrounded the residence. They also tried to call his phone, but he did not answer. After a standoff of about 20 minutes, the FBI used a flash-bang device and left a copy of the search warrant on the porch. According to records, Russell retrieved the warrant and went back into the house. He then exited with his hands up and a cell phone in one hand. He was arrested without incident.
According to Crawford County Common Pleas Court records, Russell has no prior felony charges.
Russell is being held in custody until Thursday for a bail hearing. He was appointed Cleveland attorney Carolyn Kurcharski to represent him.
Crawford County Now will continue to cover this developing news story.