Man pleads guilty to threatening Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis
Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis has been beset by problems since she indicted former President Donald Trump on racketeering charges last year.
However, Willis got some positive news this week after an Alabama man pleaded guilty to threatening her.
Man apologizes for "stupid phone call"
According to WVTM, Arthur Ray Hanson II entered his plea in federal court on Tuesday. His sentencing will take place at a later date.
Following Willis’ indictment of Trump and 18 others, Hanson telephoned a Fulton County government customer service line and said, "When you charge Trump on that fourth indictment, anytime you’re alone, be looking over your shoulder."
"If you take a mug shot of the president and you’re the reason it happened, some bad (expletive)’s gonna happen to you," Hanson added.
The WVTM noted how Assistant U.S. Attorney Bret Hobson has indicated that he will seek a lenient sentence for Hanson as the defendant has shown contrition for his actions.
Hanson expressed remorse when he appeared in court this week, telling U.S. Magistrate Regina Cannon, "I made a stupid phone call. I'm not a violent person." Hanson went on to say, "I didn't knowingly know I was threatening anybody. To me, it was a warning."
Appeals court to hear arguments over whether Willis should be removed
Yet Hanson's guilty plea will not alleviate Willis' other challenges, with the most prominent being an effort to remove her from Trump's case.
As Newsweek explained earlier this month, the controversy stems from a romantic relationship Willis had with Nathan Wade, an attorney she hired to help prosecute Trump.
The former president's legal team has argued that Willis personally benefited from hiring Wade since his salary was used to pay for trips the two went on together.
Willis disputed the allegation, insisting that she reimbursed Wade to cover her share of the expenses using a supply of cash she kept in her home.
Wade says his action play no "role at all" in undermining case
Although Judge Scott McAfee ruled in March that Willis could continue to prosecute Trump as long as Wade left her office, the Court of Appeals of the State of Georgia announced that it will hear a challenge to McAfee's decision.
Tonight at 9:00 ET, watch my full interview with former Georgia prosecutor Nathan Wade, in his first sit down with CNN. pic.twitter.com/id2iBJo3sm
— Kaitlan Collins (@kaitlancollins) June 12, 2024
For his part, Wade told CNN host Kaitlan Collins during an interview on June 12 that he doesn't believe his actions "played a role at all" in jeopardizing Trump's prosecution.