Trump Supporter Who Threatened Ayanna Pressley Gets Probation

BOSTON — A Florida man who sent U.S. Rep. Ayanna Pressley and other lawmakers of color death threats was sentenced to three years probation Thursday.

David George Hannon, 67, pleaded guilty in April and was sentenced to three years of probation, issued a $7,000 fine, and is required to attend mental and substance abuse treatment.

In addition to Rep. Pressley of Massachusetts, threatening emails were also sent to Reps. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez of New York, Rep. Ilhan Omar of Minnesota, and Rashida Tlaib of Michigan

In a hearing Wednesday, Hannon's daughter Elizabeth Hannon Dillon says her father was only doing what former President Donald Trump "told him."

Hannon told a judge he sent the emails after representatives met for a news conference in July 2019, where President Trump said those politicians should "go back" to the "crime-infested places" from which they came, MassLive first reported.

"He was a Trump supporter and now he regrets it," Dillon told the judge Wednesday during a hearing. "He was doing that because Trump told him to."

Mizelle called the threat "heinous and inappropriate in every regard," adding that "this sort of behavior has no place in our society."

U.S. District Judge Kathryn Kimball Mizelle sentenced him to three years probation instead of the usual 10-month prison sentence so that Hannon could focus on rehabilitation given his lack of prior criminal history and his now remorsefulness for the incident.