Texas Man Gets 33 Months Jail for Threatening to Kill Rep. Maxine Waters

Brian Michael Gaherty targeted the congresswoman with violent threats because of her race, the judge found.

House Financial Services Committee Chair Maxine Waters raps her gavel during a hearing in the Rayburn House Office Building on Capitol Hill, on May 12, 2022. Somodevilla/Getty Images

A 61-year-old Texas man was sentenced on June 17 to 33 months in federal prison and fined $10,000 for making threatening phone calls to Rep. Maxine Waters (D-Calif.), according to the Department of Justice (DOJ).

District Judge Gary Klausner found that Brian Michael Gaherty, 61, of Houston, targeted the congresswoman with violent threats because of her race. A “hate-crime enhancement” was applied to his sentence, the DOJ said in a press release.