A 25-year-old Duluth man faces federal charges for making threatening phone calls to the offices of two U.S. senators in January.
📞 What Happened: Robert Davis Forney allegedly called Senator Ted Cruz’s office twice on January 9 and left voicemails threatening sexual violence against the Texas senator and his family. The next day, authorities say he called Senator Deb Fischer’s Nebraska office and made similar threats against her. Both senators are Republicans.
⚖️ The Charges: A federal grand jury indicted Forney on June 10 for communicating threats in interstate commerce. He appeared before a magistrate judge today in Atlanta.
🏛️ Why It Matters: Threats against elected officials have been rising nationwide, and federal authorities are cracking down on political violence to protect democracy.
🔍 The Investigation: The FBI and U.S. Capitol Police are handling the case. It’s part of Operation Take Back America, a Justice Department initiative targeting violent crime and protecting communities.
🛡️ By The Numbers: Capitol Police investigate thousands of threat cases each year, and that number keeps growing according to Acting Chief Sean Gallagher.
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Before You Dismiss This Article…
We live in a time when information feels overwhelming, but here’s what hasn’t changed: facts exist whether they comfort us or not.
When A&W launched their third-pound burger to compete with McDonald’s Quarter Pounder in the 1980s, it failed spectacularly. Not because it tasted worse, but because customers thought 1/3 was smaller than 1/4. If basic math can trip us up, imagine how easily we can misread complex news.
The press isn’t against you when it reports something you don’t want to hear. Reporters are thermometers, not the fever itself. They’re telling you what verified sources are saying, not taking sides. Good reporting should challenge you — that’s literally the job.
Next time a story makes you angry, pause. Ask yourself: What evidence backs this up? Am I reacting with my brain or my gut? What would actually change my mind? And most importantly, am I assuming bias just because the story doesn’t match what I hoped to hear.
Smart readers choose verified information over their own comfort zone.
B.T. Clark
B.T. Clark is an award-winning journalist and the Publisher of The Georgia Sun. He has 25 years of experience in journalism and served as Managing Editor of Neighbor Newspapers in metro Atlanta for 15 years and Digital Director at Times-Journal Inc. for 8 years. His work has appeared in several newspapers throughout the state including Neighbor Newspapers, The Cherokee Tribune and The Marietta Daily Journal. He is a Georgia native and a fifth-generation Georgian.
