PHOENIX, Ariz. – Rene Ortiz, 56, of Casa Grande, Arizona, was sentenced on Oct. 20, 2026, by Senior U.S. District Judge Stephen M. McNamee to 38 months in prison. Ortiz was convicted by a federal jury on June 8, 2026, of two felony violations of Making Threats Against Successors to the Presidency and one felony violation of Making Threats Against Former Presidents.
On Nov. 5, 2024—Election Day—Ortiz delivered to the federal courthouse in Phoenix a written threat to “execute the newly elected [President of the United States] by firing an M-16A2 service rifle with a magazine of 6 rounds,” directed at both candidates, former Vice President Kamala Harris and President Donald Trump. After the election, on Nov. 25, 2024, Ortiz delivered a second threat to shoot “the incoming fraudulent elected [President of the United States] … at the inauguration on January 20th, 2025,” to the federal courthouse in Tucson. When interviewed by the U.S. Secret Service about the threats, Ortiz repeated his intent to make the threats; he was subsequently arrested on Jan. 17, 2025, ahead of the Presidential Inauguration.
The United States Secret Service conducted the investigation with assistance from the United States Marshals Service. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Amy Chang and Abbie Broughton, District of Arizona, Phoenix, handled the prosecution. CASE NUMBER: 25-CR-00153-PHX-SMMRELEASE NUMBER: 2026-180_Ortiz# # #For more information on the U.S. Attorney’s Office, District of Arizona, visit http://www.justice.gov/usao/az/Follow the U.S. Attorney’s Office, District of Arizona, on Twitter @USAO_AZ for the latest news.