Chattanooga, TN – A Tennessee man has been sentenced to two years in federal prison after admitting he left a series of violent and profanity-laced threats against Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene and her family.
U.S. District Judge Curtis Collier on Wednesday ordered Garry Lebron Hayes, 45, to serve the maximum penalty allowed under federal sentencing guidelines after he pleaded guilty to one count of transmitting a threat to injure using interstate commerce.
Judge Collier said the sentence was intended to “send a signal to all of the other Garry Lebron Hayes in the country who might think they can get away with such conduct,” the Chattanooga Times Free Press reported. While investigators found no evidence Hayes planned to carry out his threats, the judge added that the punishment was aimed at protecting democratic institutions.
According to court records, Hayes left multiple voicemails for Greene beginning in March 2022. In them, he identified himself by name and threatened to harm the congresswoman, her children, and her then-husband. In July 2024, his messages escalated to explicit threats to kill her.
The FBI became involved after Hayes’s threats continued into 2024. When agents visited his mother to inquire about his behavior, Hayes responded in an email warning he would “defend [his] life to death.”
Prosecutors also presented evidence of a voicemail Hayes left for Sen. Tim Scott of South Carolina in which he used a homophobic slur and made false claims about the Republican senator.
The letters read:
Hey [Congresswoman]. My name is Gary, G-A-R-R-Y, Hayes, H-A-Y-E-S. And I’m a little bit off. I’m a little bit taken back, but I’m from that area you are. And at any time that you feel like you want to do white nationalist s—, call my name, call my name. I’ll come see you and your children, and we’ll see how that ends up. B—!
Let me assure you of something. You trifling b—. I’m a black man and I will meet you one day, b—. And when I do, I want your kids there, cause I’m gonna beat your mother f—ing ass in front of your children, b—. Now come f— with me. Come f— with me. Have your husband there too, b—.
I just unfortunately found out that you have visited my mother’s house. I certainly have not threatened or did anything to the government. But I understand Trump is elected and [your] counterpart clearly is a Trump lover. Don’t threaten my mother and don’t threaten me, I don’t have a threat for you all but I will defend my life to death. So tell your friend don’t come back to me don’t come back to my mother’s house I don’t have a threat for you all. But I’m willing to die.
Hayes will serve his sentence in a federal correctional facility, followed by supervised release.
Key Points
- Garry Lebron Hayes, 45, sentenced to two years in prison for threats against Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene.
- Hayes left multiple voicemails over two years, escalating from threats of violence to death threats.
- Judge Collier imposed the maximum sentence to deter similar conduct nationwide.
The ruling sends a stark warning about the consequences of threatening elected officials.
