Voicemail threats to Pelosi, Mayorkas from San Francisco Bay Area man lead to 11-month prison term
A Concord man who made voicemail threats to U.S. House Speaker Emerita Nancy Pelosi and Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas was sentenced Wednesday to 11 months in prison.
David Allen Carrier, 44, pleaded guilty to two counts of threatening a federal official in December 2023 after a grand jury indicted him on the charges three months prior. The sentence was announced in a press statement from U.S. Attorney Ismail Ramsey.
In January 2021, Carter left a voicemail for then-House Speaker Pelosi threatening to assault her. Seventeen months later in July 2022, Carter did the same in a phone message to Secretary Mayorkas. Carter acknowledged that he acted with the intent to interfere with Pelosi's and Mayorkas' performance during their official duties as congressmember and cabinet secretary, respectively.
"Participating in the public political conversation is an important right for all citizens," said Ramsey in a prepared statement. "Nevertheless, threatening our public servants is not protected by the First Amendment and corrodes our ability to engage in peaceful and important public discourse. This Office will not tolerate behavior that crosses the line to criminal threats."
"Violent threats targeting elected officials also threaten our democratic system," said a statement from FBI Special Agent in Charge Robert Tripp. "Today's sentence demonstrates that anyone who sends politically motivated threats of violence to government officials will be investigated by the FBI and held accountable."
U.S. District Judge William Alsup also ordered Carrier to serve three years of supervised release following his prison term and ordered him to stay away from and not contact Pelosi and Mayorkas. He was also required to attend mental health and substance abuse treatment while on supervised release.
Carter's prosecution resulted from an investigation by the FBI and the U.S. Secret Service.
