Georgia man accused of leaving threatening messages to two Republican senators

ATLANTA (AP) — A voicemail message a Georgia man accused of threatening as two Republican senators appeared in federal court Monday and faced charges in federal court on Monday.

Robert Davis Forney, 25, of Duluth, Georgia, was arraigned in Atlanta on two counts of communicating threats in interstate trade, according to court records. A grand jury sued him last week.

“Threatening our elected officials and their families is a violent act that undermines our entire democracy,” said the U.S. attorney for Theodore S. Hertzberg in northern Georgia, in a statement. “Political discourse and disagreement will never prove appeal to evil attacks on our nation’s leaders.”

According to prosecutors, Forney called Texas Sen. Ted Cruz’s office in January and left a voicemail threatening sexual violence against Cruz and his family. The next day, Forney left a similar voicemail threatening to sexually violence against Nebraska Sen. Deb Fischer, authorities said.

The federal public defender assigned to Fornie did not immediately respond to an email about the alleged comments.