KANSAS CITY (AP) — A man who threatened two Democratic U.S. congressmen was sentenced Tuesday to 2.5 years in federal prison.
Kenneth R. Hubert, 63, of Marionville, Missouri was sentenced for threatening Rep. Emanuel Cleaver II of Kansas City and Rep. Steven Cohen of Tennessee. He pleaded guilty in June to two counts of threatening to injure federal officials.
Hubert called Cleaver's office in January. He called Cleaver, who is Black, a racial slur and suggested putting a noose around his neck, federal officials said.
Hubert called Cohen's office in Washington D.C. in May 2019 and threatened to put a noose around his neck and drag him behind a pickup truck. He said he was offended by a comment Cohen made about former President Donald Trump.
Federal prosecutors have said Hubert made similar threats starting in 2014 to minorities, groups advocating for minorities and certain religious beliefs and to members of the Democratic party. His targets included former President Barack Obama, the Missouri Democratic Party and the Council of American-Islamic Relations.
Before he was arrested, Hubert ignored several directions from law enforcement agencies to stop the threats, prosecutors said.