LOS ANGELES – A federal grand jury indicted a Houston man Friday for allegedly calling the office of California Democratic U.S. Rep. Maxine Waters several times last year and leaving threatening voice mails, including saying he intended to “cut your throat.”
Brian Michael Gaherty, 60, was charged in the indictment with four counts of making threats in interstate communications and four counts of threatening a U.S. official, the U.S. Attorney's Office in Los Angeles said in a statement.
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Gaherty was arrested April 13 after prosecutors filed a criminal complaint alleging that he had threatened Waters, other elected officials and a news reporter in Houston.
The indictment says Gaherty called the congresswoman’s office four times — twice in August and twice in November — and each time left a threatening message.
Prosecutors said that in one, he told the congresswoman he intended to “cut your throat.”
The indictment alleged Gaherty “knowingly threatened to assault and kill” Waters while she was engaged in the performance of her official duties.
There was no immediate response to messages requesting comment from an attorney who was believed to be representing Gaherty.
After Gaherty was arrested at his residence in Houston, he made a court appearance Monday and was ordered released on $100,000 bond.
He is expected to appear for an arraignment in U.S. District Court in Los Angeles in the coming weeks.
Each count of making a threat to a federal official carries a statutory maximum sentence of 10 years in federal prison. The charge of making threats in interstate communications carries a maximum penalty of five years.