FBI Arrests Man for Threatening Phone Calls to Election Worker
The FBI arrested a Nevada man for allegedly making multiple threatening phone calls to a state election worker.
Gjergi Luke Juncaj, 50, of Las Vegas, is accused of making four threatening phone calls to an employee in the Elections Division of the Nevada Secretary of State’s Office on January 7, 2021.
Juncaj has been charged with four counts of making threatening phone calls, the Justice Department said in a statement. If convicted, he faces a maximum of two years in prison on each count.
The threats included: “I want to thank you for such a great job you all did on stealing the election. I hope you all go to jail for treason. I hope your children get molested. You are all going to (expletive) die.”
After the threats, Staci McElyea, a former U.S. Marine, called the Nevada Capitol Patrol and sent a transcript of the calls. An officer contacted the man, whom police later identified as Juncaj.
According to a Reuters report, despite the multiple threatening phone calls, state police decided not to charge Juncaj, concluding that his threats were “protected” political speech and not criminal because he said he “wished” election workers would die.
But the report contradicted the assessment, as call transcripts show that the man repeatedly told McElyea that she and her colleagues would be killed.
The FBI opened an investigation into Juncaj following the Reuters story.
The Justice Department said that this case is part of its Election Threats Task Force, which launched in June 2021, “to address threats of violence against election workers, and to ensure that all election workers — whether elected, appointed or volunteer — are able to do their jobs free from threats and intimidation.”
