A Texas man, Brian Michael Gaherty, 61, from Houston, has been sentenced to 33 months in federal prison and fined $10,000 for leaving threatening and racist voicemails for California Democratic Rep. Maxine Waters. The sentencing was handed down by United States District Judge R. Gary Klausner, who added a hate-crime enhancement to the sentence due to the racial nature of the threats.
Gaherty pleaded guilty to one count of threatening a United States official after admitting to leaving four voicemails in August and November 2022, where he threatened to assault and murder Waters. The voicemails contained profanity and racist language, with Gaherty making explicit threats of violence against the congresswoman.
