Arizona man convicted of threatening to kill Trump and Harris
An Arizona man has been convicted of threatening to kill President Donald Trump and former Vice President Kamala Harris, including in a written threat that was delivered to a federal courthouse on Election Day, prosecutors said.
Rene Ortiz, 56, of Casa Grande, was found guilty on Monday of two felony counts of making threats against successors to the presidency and one felony count of making threats against a former president, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Arizona.
Prosecutors said Ortiz delivered a written threat to the federal courthouse in Phoenix on Election Day, November 5, 2024, saying he would “execute the newly elected” president by firing an M-16A2 service rifle with a six-round magazine. The threat was directed at both candidates, Trump and Harris, according to prosecutors.
After the election, on November 25, 2024, Ortiz delivered another threat to the federal courthouse in Tucson, saying he would shoot the “incoming fraudulent elected” president at the inauguration on January 20, 2025.
When he was interviewed by the U.S. Secret Service, Ortiz repeated his intent to make the threats, prosecutors said. He was arrested on January 17, 2025, three days before the inauguration.
Sentencing is scheduled for September 1. Each conviction carries up to five years in prison, a fine of up to $250,000, or both, followed by up to three years of supervised release.
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Ella Rae Greene, Editor In Chief
