Man Arrested for Making Threat to Arizona Election Official

William Hyde of San Diego was arrested in San Diego today for allegedly leaving a voicemail containing a violent threat on the personal cell phone of an election official in the Maricopa County Recorder’s Office in Phoenix, Arizona.

Hyde, 52, is scheduled to make his initial appearance tomorrow at the federal courthouse in San Diego.

According to an indictment unsealed today, on or about November 29, 2022, Hyde allegedly left the following voicemail message on the personal cell phone of the victim election official: “Run, [expletive].” Approximately one minute later, Hyde allegedly left a second voicemail message for the same election official: “You wanna cheat our elections? You wanna screw Americans out of true votes? We’re coming, [expletive]. You’d better [expletive] hide.” This followed a Special Meeting held by the Maricopa County Board of Supervisors a day earlier to certify the election results in Maricopa County for the November 8, 2022, general elections for federal and state officeholders. The election official was present at this Special Meeting, which received nationwide media coverage.

Read more: Department of Justice