A Texas man who pleaded guilty to threatening Arizona poll workers has been sentenced.
Frederick Francis Goltz, 52, pleaded guilty in April to interstate threatening communications, according to a press release from the United States District Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of Texas. He was sentenced to three and a half years in federal prison, followed by three years of supervised release.
“This particular defendant repeatedly advocated violence against not only these men but against their children as well. The Justice Department will not stand by as bad actors threaten members of law enforcement or election officials,” said U.S. Attorney Leigha Simonton in the press release.
Goltz was accused of threatening several people in Arizona, including a Maricopa County Attorney’s Office lawyer and a Maricopa County elections official. He posted his threats to far-right websites such as Patriots.win and Gab.com.
Goltz admitted to posting the attorney’s name, home address, and telephone number on social media along with the comment, “It would be a shame if someone got to this [sic] children. There are some crazies out there. This kind of info shouldn’t be readily available on the internet.”
Goltz also admitted to posting the same day about Maricopa County officials, “Someone needs to get these people AND their children. The children are the most important message to send.”
According to court records, Goltz commented about the elections official, “He’s got a WIFE that is a lawyer, too. We need to find out her name and where she works. I don’t think he has kids, but I’m not 100% on that.”
When someone suggested that children should be “off limits,” Goltz responded, “NOTHING is off limits. It’s people like you that are supposedly with us, who don’t have the stomach to do what it takes to get our country back.”
During its investigation of Goltz, the FBI found “a long history of threatening statements against a variety of targets, including government officials, law enforcement officers, and others.”
Goltz had called for “a mass shooting of poll workers and election officials” in precincts where he believed election results were “suspect.”
He said multiple times that “children are not off limits” because “it sends a message… people will pay the price for ‘sins of the father.’ Dead children burn into the memories of people.”
At the sentencing hearing, the lawyer for the Maricopa County Attorney’s Office testified that he and his family required “round-the-clock protection” and “body armor” because of the threats.
Nearby in Dallas, there have been 154 murders as of August 8, according to a Dallas Police Department (DPD) report, up from the same time period last year.
DPD is understaffed, maintaining a force of around 3,100 officers. According to a City analysis, a city the size of Dallas should have a force of about 4,000 officers, which means the department needs to hire about 900 more police.
The shortage has been felt in Downtown Dallas. The neighborhood sees far more crime than Fort Worth’s downtown area, which reportedly maintains a dedicated police unit that focuses exclusively on downtown and also works alongside private security.
