Man convicted for dozens of threats against former Speaker McCarthy over Chinese balloons

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A man from Montana has been convicted after making dozens of threatening phone calls against the Speaker of the House.

Richard Rogers, 45, made over 100 threatening calls to then-Speaker Kevin McCarthy's office after the U.S. government shot down a Chinese balloon over Montana.

A federal jury on Wednesday found Rogers guilty of threatening to assault McCarthy as well as two counts of harassing telephone calls. 

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Richard Rogers and his wife Laurie are seen outside the James F. Battin Federal Courthouse in Billings, Montana. (AP Photo/Matthew Brown)

Rogers made over 100 calls to McCarthy's office in the course of just 75 minutes on Feb. 3 of last year, prosecutors said. 

He also made over 150 calls to the FBI tip line between 2021 and 2022.

Authorities say that his calls were frequently filled with vulgar and offensive statements, as well as physical threats.

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"You can’t talk to people that way. It’s common sense," said Assistant U.S. Attorney Thomas Godfrey. "He’s calling not out of political protest; he’s calling because he gets enjoyment out of it."

Rogers argued in court that his dozens of calls to McCarthy's office — inspired by the Chinese balloon but commenting on everything from the FBI to President Biden — were a form of "civil disobedience." 

Speaker Emeritus Kevin McCarthy is shown addressing the audience during an event awarding House Clerk Cheryl L. Johnson with the 2023 Freedom Award. (Aaron Schwartz/NurPhoto via Getty Images)

"They were disrespectful to me, so I was disrespectful to them," Rogers said of his abusive language used against congressional staff and receptionists.

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Rogers is set to be sentenced on Jan. 31. 

He faces a maximum penalty of six years in prison and a $250,000 fine for threatening to harm a congressman. 

On the harassment conviction, he faces up to two years in prison and a $250,000 fine.