Alaska man gets 32 months for threatening to murder Senators Murkowski and Sullivan

(CN) — An Alaska man was sentenced to 32 months in federal prison for threatening to murder the state's two U.S. senators, Lisa Murkowski and Dan Sullivan, because he believed they and other politicians were destroying the country.

A federal judge also ordered Jay Johnson, 65, to pay a $5,000 fine, according to a statement Friday from the U.S. attorney's office in Fairbanks. As part of his plea agreement, Johnson agreed to forfeit seven firearms law enforcement found at his home, which he wasn't allowed to own because of a previous felony conviction.

The FBI tracked Johnson down in October 2021 after he had left 17 threatening voicemails for the two senators over a five-month period. In the messages, the Delta Junction resident ranted how he was “sick and tired of all of you fucking politicians that continue to destroy our fucking country," and how he was going to use “illegals for target practice.”

Johnson, according to the government, has a history of alcohol abuse and was convicted on DUI charges six times. When he was arrested last year, he was driving to Fairbanks International Airport even though his license had been suspended for 99 years because of a 2016 felony DUI conviction. That conviction stemmed from Johnson driving at twice the speed limit with a pistol in his shoulder holster, according to court filings.

At his initial court appearance last year, Johnson’s wife, who testified on his behalf as a proposed third-party custodian, was asked if she was aware he was making threats against two U.S. senators, according to the government. She replied, "Who hasn't?" Johnson was subsequently detained as a danger to the community.

"Sadly, political violence of all stripes has become a clear and present danger to public safety and the functioning of our democracy," the prosecution said a sentencing memorandum, seeking 37 months imprisonment. "The defendant’s conduct showed his rejection of that democracy and his willingness to resort to repeated violent threats when duly elected representatives take actions with which he disagrees."

Johnson's lawyer, Jason Weiner, didn't immediately respond to an email seeking comment on the sentence.

In his bid for leniency, Weiner cited Johnson's poor health and said his client would never have acted on his threats.

"There was never any chance that anyone was going to be physically hurt by Mr. Johnson," Weiner said in his sentencing request. "His actions did not take place in a vacuum, and were not fueled by illegal narcotics or even illegal motives. They were the product of pain, prescription medications, and self-medication through alcohol legally obtained."

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