A man from Houston was indicted by a federal grand jury for allegedly making a series of phone calls to U.S. Representative Maxine Waters’ Hawthorne office and threatening her with violence and death. 

According to a release from the U.S. Justice Department, 60-year-old Brian Michael Gaherty is charged with four counts of making threats in interstate communications and four counts of threatening a United States official. 

The indictment alleges that Gaherty called the congresswoman’s office four times in 2022: twice on August 8, once on Nov. 8 and once on Nov. 10. He allegedly left four voicemail messages, each of which contained a threat to Representative Waters, the DOJ said. 

“For example, in one of the August 8 calls to Representative Waters, Gaherty allegedly threatened to ‘cut your throat’,” the Justice Department said in a statement. 

Gaherty was arrested in this case on April 13 after prosecutors filed a complaint that alleged he threatened other elected officials and a news reporter in Houston. On April 17, he was ordered released on $100,000 bond. 

According to the DOJ, Gaherty is expected to appear for an arraignment in the U.S. District Court in Los Angeles in the coming weeks. 

Each count of making a threat to a United States official carries a statutory maximum sentence of 10 years in federal prison. The charge of making threats in interstate communications carries a maximum penalty of five years in prison. 

The United States Capitol Police and the FBI are handling the investigation.