AG denounces election worker threats as DOJ charges over a dozen people

• These include a 2.5-year prison sentence handed down on Monday to an Iowa man, who had left voicemails threatening to "hang" officials including former Attorney General of Arizona Mark Brnovich.
• On Thursday, an Ohio man pleaded guilty to sending a death threat to an election official with the Arizona secretary of state's office and a Texas man pleaded guilty to "posting a message online threatening several Georgia public officials following the 2020 election," per the DOJ.

Zoom out: The task force has reviewed over 1,000 contacts reported as hostile or harassing by the election community and about 11% of these met the threshold for a federal criminal investigation as of Aug. 1, according to the Justice Department.

• 58% of the total of potentially criminal threats were in seven key 2020 election battleground states that underwent "post-election lawsuits, recounts, and audits," notes the DOJ, which names them as: Arizona, Georgia, Colorado, Michigan, Pennsylvania, Nevada, and Wisconsin.

Meanwhile, 45% of election workers told the Brennan Center for Justice in an April poll they were concerned for the safety of other election officials and workers in future elections.

What they're saying: "A functioning democracy requires that the public servants who administer our elections are able to do their jobs without fearing for their lives," Garland said in a statement.

• "The Justice Department will continue to investigate and prosecute those who target election officials and election workers as part of our broader efforts to safeguard the right to vote and to defend our democracy."

Go deeper: States need to pay up to secure 2024 elections, experts warn