TACOMA — A man who sent threats to Washington Gov. Chris Gregoire, including one calling for her “public execution” and another saying she should be “burned at the stake like any heretic” has been sentenced to 12 months in jail.
Jurors convicted 51-year-old Robert Ray Locke, of Graham, earlier this month of threatening the governor. He was sentenced Friday in Pierce County Superior Court.
The messages were sent Jan. 25 through the governor’s website. Locke also filled out an “event request” form asking for the public execution.
Washington State Patrol detectives located Locke from a phone number and email address provided in the messages. Pierce County Prosecutor Mark Lindquist says Locke admitted sending them from a friend’s computer. He reportedly said he was upset that when Gregoire was state attorney general she was unable to help him recover some unpaid wages.
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