'Skin You Alive': PA Man Sentenced For Threatening Election Official

PITTSBURGH, PA — A Philadelphia man is going to prison and being fined following his conviction on charges of threatening to kill a Western Pennsylvania poll watcher.

Chief United States District Judge Cathy Bissoon sentenced John Courtney Pollard, 63, to 10 months in prison and fined him $5,000. He also will serve one year of supervised release once his prison term is completed.

The sentence was announced Wednesday by Western District of Pennsylvania United States Attorney Tony Rivetti. The district includes 10 of the state's 67 counties.

According to Rivetti's office, in September 2024 Pollard sent the unidentified victim - a regional election integrity director - four iMessages in about 10 minutes.

The victim, a state political party employee,had stated online stated that they were recruiting volunteers to help observe polls on election day. The message included the victim's phone number.

Pollard texted the victim that he was interested in being a poll watcher. He then texted three threats:

• "I will KILL YOU IF YOU DON'T ANSWER ME!"

• "Your days are numbered, (expletive)!

• "GONNA (expletive) FIND YOU AND SKIN YOU ALIVE AND USE YOUR SKIN FOR (expletive) TOILET PAPER, YOU (double expletive)!"

An impact statement from the victim read in court detailed how Pollard’s “threatening texts began a year-long ordeal filled with fear and constant vigilance."

The victim urged the court to “send a strong message to the country—that there is zero tolerance for making death threats against anyone, especially those serving in political or civic roles. Many of us are simply fulfilling our civic duty, yet we are becoming targets of a kind of hatred that is difficult to describe.”

Bissoon rejected the defense request for a sentence of probation, stressing that “political violence is real,” and that death threats such as those made by the defendant will not be tolerated.