Alaska man who threatened US senators pleads guilty

By MARK THIESSEN
Associated Press

ANCHORAGE, Alaska (AP) — A rural Alaska man who threatened to kill Alaska’s two U.S. senators in a series of profanity-laced voice messages left at their offices in Washington has pleaded guilty to making the threats in exchange for having other charges dropped. Jay Allen Johnson entered his guilty pleas Monday in federal court in Fairbanks to two counts of threatening to kill a U.S. official. U.S. District Judge Ralph Beistline accepted Johnson’s pleas and set sentencing for April 8. Johnson has asked for an earlier sentencing. He faces up 10 years in jail on each charge. In exchange for his guilty plea to the two counts, the government agreed to drop four other more minor charges.