Arthur Ray Hanson II, a 59-year-old man from Huntsville, Alabama, was sentenced to federal prison for threatening to harm Fulton County Sheriff Patrick Labat and District Attorney Fani Willis. The threats stemmed from Hanson’s anger over the Fulton County investigation and prosecution of former President Donald Trump.
The Messages: In his message for Labat, Hanson made statements that included the following:
- “If you think you gonna take a mugshot of my President Trump and it’s gonna be okay, you gonna find out that after you take that mugshot, some bad [expletive]’s gonna happen to you;”
- “If you take a mugshot of the President and you’re the reason it happened, some bad [expletive]’s gonna happen to you;”
- “I’m warning you right now before you [expletive] up your life and get hurt real bad;” and
- “Whether you got a [expletive] badge or not ain’t gonna help you none;” and “you gonna get [expletive]ed up you keep [expletive]ing with my President.”
In Hanson’s message for District Attorney Willis, he made statements that included the following:
- “Watch it when you’re going to the car at night, when you’re going into your house, watch everywhere that you’re going;”
- “I would be very afraid if I were you because you can’t be around people all the time that are going to protect you;”
- “There’s gonna be moments when you’re gonna be vulnerable;”
- “When you charge Trump on that fourth indictment, anytime you’re alone, be looking over your shoulder;” and
- “What you put out there, [expletive], comes back at you ten times harder, and don’t ever forget it.”
By the Numbers:
• Sentencing: Hanson was sentenced to one year and nine months in prison.
• Fine: Judge J. P. Boulee ordered Hanson to pay a $7,500 fine.
• Supervised Release: Following his prison sentence, Hanson will serve three years of supervised release.
In Context: Fulton County’s investigation into Trump has drawn national attention, especially after Willis pursued charges connected to alleged efforts to overturn the 2020 presidential election.
Hanson pleaded guilty to one count of transmitting interstate threats in July 2024.
