Donald Trump supporter Michael Anthony Gallagher, 71, was slapped with a jail sentence for sending dozens of racist death threats to politicians who criticize former President Donald Trump.
Citing “his age and prompt admission of guilt,” prosecutors recommended that Gallagher be sentenced to one year of probation. Assistant U.S. Attorney Joseph Tartakovsky also cited Gallagher’s lack of prior criminal history, and the absence of evidence that he had any intent actually to carry out any of his threats.
In a rare move, however, U.S. District Judge Richard Seeborg rejected the Department of Justice’s recommendation and sentenced the 71-year-old MAGA fanatic to four months behind bars —enough time for him to think about his choices.
In an apology letter, Gallagher wrote: “Throughout the last presidency, I was impacted by the political polarization of our country. That’s when I started on the reproachable path of mailing threatening postcards, for which I am painfully sorry and ashamed. I think I believed I was sending a message about my political views. But now I realize that these views and my conduct were terribly misguided and shameful.”
According to the Mercury News, Gallagher “spent some four years sending dozens of racist death threats on personalized, handmade postcards.”
After his arrangement in August 2021, he pleaded guilty to mailing a threatening postcard, signed “KKK,” to California Democratic Congresswoman Maxine Waters, who is Black.
Gallagher’s threat to Waters was among at least 75 he sent to politicians across the country who were critical of former president Donald Trump.
“We’re going to hang your head off the Washington Monument, you piece of Communist (expletive),” Gallagher once wrote to House Speaker Nancy Pelosi. He also threatened to shoot Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer.
Gallagher is scheduled to report to jail in March after being sentenced in December, the newspaper reported.
