(Reuters) – A Nevada man who prosecutors say threatened a state elections worker has been arrested by the FBI as part of a federal task force investigating what the U.S. Justice Department has called a wave of such crimes.
Gjergi Luke Juncaj, 50, was taken into custody in Las Vegas on Wednesday and made an initial court appearance in the case on Thursday in U.S. District Court, the Justice Department said in a written statement.
Juncaj was charged with four federal counts of making threatening phone calls. He faces a maximum of two years in prison if convicted at trial.
It was not immediately clear whether Juncaj had retained a defense attorney.
Justice Department officials say they are investigating dozens of similar cases under a task force announced last June, shortly after Reuters published the first in a series https://www.reuters.com/investigates/special-report/usa-trump-georgia-threats of investigative reports documenting threats against election workers.
A Texas man was charged last week with making violent threats against Georgia election and government officials.
Prosecutors accuse Chad Christopher Stark of Leander, Texas, with posting a Craigslist message on Jan. 5, 2021 entitled, “Georgia Patriots it’s time to kill.”
(Reporting by Dan Whitcomb)
