KANSAS CITY, Mo. — A southwestern Missouri man was sentenced to two-and-a-half years in federal prison Tuesday after threatening to "assault and murder" Missouri Rep. Emanuel Cleaver and another congressman.
In June, Kenneth R. Hubert, 63, admitted that he had left a profane and racist message to Cleaver's office in January, according to a court document.
He pleaded guilty to two counts of threatening to injure federal officials.
“This unfortunate case demonstrates that there is too much vitriol being hurled at and, unfortunately, by lawmakers who should know better," Cleaver and Tennessee Rep. Steve Cohen, the other congressman threatened, said in a statement. "This sentence should act as a deterrent to those who might be inclined to take policy and political differences out of the realm of civility and threaten violence—which can never become the norm in a functioning democracy.”
Hubert's 30 months in prison will be followed by three years of supervised release.
