AUSTIN (Talk1370.com) -- A Leander resident is facing a federal indictment for allegedly posting online threats to Georgia election officials following the 2020 presidential election.
The U.S. Department of Justice says 54-year old Chad Christopher Stark was arrested in Travis County Friday morning. He's facing one charge of communicating interstate threats. If convicted, Stark could face a maximum penalty of five years in prison.
Stark is expected to make his initial appearance Friday afternoon at the federal courthouse in Austin.
According to the indictment, Stark is alleged to have posted a message on Craigslist on Jan. 5, 2021, offering $10,000 in exchange for the deaths of at least three election officials in the state of Georgia. "It’s our duty as American Patriots to put an end to the lives of these traitors and take back our country by force we can no longer wait on the corrupt law enforcement in the corrupt courts," the post reads, along with other statements including "milita up Georgia it’s time to spill blood" and "death to you and all you communist friends."
The names of the officials involved have been redacted in public statements, but a federal law enforcement source confirmed to CBS News that Georgia Governor Brian Kemp and Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger were among the officials targeted in the post.
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Stark's indictment marks the first criminal case brought by the Justice Department's Election Threats Task Force, announced by Attorney General Merrick Garland in June 2021.
"The Justice Department has a responsibility not only to protect the right to vote, but also to protect those who administer our voting systems from violence and illegal threats of violence," said Garland in a statement. "The department’s Election Threats Task Force, working with partners across the country, will hold accountable those who violate federal law by using violence or threatening violence to target election workers fulfilling their public duties."
The FBI’s Atlanta Field Office is investigating the case.