By Sarah N. Lynch

WASHINGTON, (Reuters) – A Texas man is being tried by U.S. Federal prosecutors for threatening to murder election officials and other government officials in a violent wave of rhetoric perpetrated by supporters of former President Donald Trump’s fraudulent claim of voter fraud. He will appear in court Friday.

Chad Christopher Stark (54), of Leander in Texas is charged with posting Jan. Craigslist posted a 2021 message that stated, in part: Georgia Patriots it is time to kill… This is the time to take over our state from Lawless traitors.

Stark was charged by a newly formed federal taskforce shortly after Reuters released the first of a series investigative reports detailing more than 850 threats to U.S. elections workers.

Stark couldn’t be reached to comment. It is possible that he will be called a federal defense attorney.

Although the Stark Indictment didn’t name the victims, Reuters reported previously that Governor Brian Kemp and Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger were among the two officials.

Kemp and Raffensperger are both Republicans. They defended the integrity and legitimacy of the Georgia elections despite Trump’s intense pressure. Trump called Raffensperger in January 2021 and asked him to get enough votes to reverse his loss.

Trump persists in falsely claiming he lost November 2020 elections due to fraud, despite numerous court losses and audits confirming Joe Biden’s win.

A Georgia prosecutor, who was conducting a criminal investigation into Trump’s remarks at a Texas event on Saturday, asked the FBI to provide protection.

Stark currently has a bond out and is due to appear at U.S. District Court, Northern District of Georgia before Judge Russell Vineyard at 10:30 a.m. ET (1500 GMT).

This is just one case of many that federal investigators are currently investigating.

Last week, the Justice Department brought forth charges against Gjergi Juncal (50) of Las Vegas. They accuse him of making threats to call a state worker in order to get his vote.

The accused has not pleaded guilty and was scheduled to stand trial at the end March.