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Chad Christopher Stark, 54, of Leander, Texas, is accused of
posting a Jan. 5, 2021, message on Craigslist that read in part:
"Georgia Patriots it's time to kill ... It's time for us to take
back our state from these Lawless treasonous traitors."
Stark is the first person charged by a new federal task force
formed shortly after Reuters published the first in a series of
investigative reports that have documented more than 850 threats
and menacing messages to U.S. election workers.
Stark appeared in a brief virtual court hearing on Friday in the
Northern District of Georgia to enter his not guilty plea. He is
currently out on bond pending trial.
The Stark indictment did not identify the victims of his
threats, but Reuters previously reported that two of the
officials include Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger and
Governor Brian Kemp.
Both Raffensperger and Kemp are Republicans who defended the
integrity of the Georgia election despite intense pressure from
Trump, who in January 2021 called Raffensperger and told him to
find enough votes to overturn his loss.
Trump continues to falsely claim he lost the November 2020
election due to widespread fraud despite multiple court losses
and audits confirming Joe Biden's victory.
Remarks Trump made on Saturday at an event in Texas prompted a
Georgia prosecutor who is conducting a criminal investigation of
the former president to ask the FBI for protection.
Stark's case is one of dozens under investigation by federal
authorities.
The Justice Department last week unveiled charges against a
second man, 50-year-old Las Vegas resident Gjergi Luke Juncal,
who they accuse of making threatening phone calls to a state
election worker. He has pleaded not guilty, and a trial was
tentatively scheduled for the end of March.
(Reporting by Sarah N. Lynch; Editing by Scott Malone, Lisa
Shumaker and Mark Porter)
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