Concord Man Sentenced For Voicemail Threats To Nancy Pelosi, Mayorkas

EAST BAY, CA— A Concord man was sentenced last week to 11 months in prison for making voicemail threats to Speaker Emerita Nancy Pelosi and U.S. Secretary of Homeland Security Alejandro Mayorkas, U.S. Attorney Ismail Ramsey, FBI Special Agent in Charge Robert Tripp and USSS Special Agent in Charge Shawn Bradstreet announced.

David Allen Carrier, 44, of Concord, was handed down his sentence in an Oakland courtroom by senior U.S. District Judge William Alsup.

Carrier pleaded guilty Dec. 19 to two counts of making threats against a federal official. He was indicted Sept. 12 by a federal grand jury, charging him with the crimes.

Court documents described how Carrier left a message Jan. 21, 2021, on the office voicemail of U.S. Rep. Nancy Pelosi, who at the time was the speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives. In the message, Carrier threatened to assault the congresswoman.

Violent threats such as Carrier's that target elected officials threaten our democratic system, Tripp said.

"Today's sentence demonstrates that anyone who sends politically motivated threats of violence to government officials will be investigated by the FBI and held accountable," Tripp said.

In pleading guilty to the charges, Carrier acknowledged he acted with the intent to interfere with Pelosi and Mayorkas carrying out their duties in their respective roles for the government.

"Participating in the public political conversation is an important right for all citizens," Ramsey said. "Nevertheless, threatening our public servants is not protected by the First Amendment and corrodes our ability to engage in peaceful and important public discourse. This Office will not tolerate behavior that crosses the line to criminal threats."

The National Security and Cybercrime Section prosecuted the case, which was the result of an investigation by the FBI and the USSS.

Bradstreet said threats against a person protected by the Secret Service are taken "very seriously."

"This is a great example of the coordination and partnership between the U.S. Secret Service, the FBI and the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of California to investigate and prosecute threats against our nation’s leaders."

After Carrier finishes serving his prison term, he must serve three years of supervised release, the Judge ruled. Alsup also ordered Carrier to stay away from and have no contact —direct or indirect — with Speaker Emerita Pelosi or Secretary Mayorkas. Carrier must also attend mental health and substance abuse treatment programs while on supervised release, among other conditions.