California Man Sentenced for Threats Against Congressman

Charles Turner Habermann, 33, allegedly left two threatening messages for McDermott after the congressman appeared on television and voiced his opposition to the extension of tax cuts that former President George W. Bush initially signed into law. McDermott argued that the tax cuts unfairly favored the wealthy but Habermann, who happens to have a multimillion dollar trust fund, apparently did not share McDermott's views.

According to the Justice Department, Habermann's first phone message consisted of threats to the lives of McDermott, as well as to the lives of his family and friends. In the phone call that followed, Habermann stated that he would employ someone to put the congressman ''in the trash.''

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Tracing the source of the calls took little work since Habermann provided both his name and phone number within the four-minute-long messages. Habermann was arrested just days after the Tucson shootings and ultimately reached a plea deal with prosecutors. He ended up pleading guilty to the charge of threatening a federal official and was sentenced to eight months in prison, three years of supervised release, and a fine of $54,000. According to prosecutors, US District Judge James Robart, who presided over the case, expects that $29,590 of the fine will be used to pay for the costs associated with Habermann's incarceration.

''Violence and threats of violence are meant to silence debate. They have no place in our political discourse,'' said US Attorney Jenny A. Durkan in a statement. She went on to point out that pubic officials and their employees are merely performing a job and should not have to fear for their safety in doing so.

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Habermann maintains that he made the threatening phone calls when he was intoxicated and never actually intended to harm anyone. However, he was also involved in a March 2010 investigation for allegedly threatening a California State Assemblywoman.

In the sentencing memo, Habermann's attorney noted that the defendant has experienced issues with drug abuse in the past. The attorney also noted that although Habermann's parents had ample money to provide for his material needs, they failed to offer him the emotional support that he needed throughout his life.