The nights leading up to October 6th became longer and longer with less and less sleep. We found it impossible to not be nervous even with the assistance of all of the nervous system regulating tools available to us. However, we clung to faith believing we would be able to move forward with our lives together as a family with the supervision of probation a new part of the routine.
My meditation the morning of October 6th delivered the intuitive prompting I would have one big surprise to come that day. Knowing how this story ends, you already know what that surprise was. While the possibility of incarceration loomed, I remained steadfast in my faith and prayers for community-based supervision.
Travis left early to meet with his attorney prior to the hearing. My parents were kind enough to come and be present at the hearing in support of us and arrived at the house early so I would not be alone. Travis’s family was in town and planned to meet us at the federal building. SammiJo was meeting us there as well.
As my parents stood in front of me in line to go through security at the Federal building, I felt a presence enter behind me. I turned to see the prosecutor standing next to me. Was this the surprise? Because I certainly had not expected a chance meeting like this. In being true to myself I greeted him.
Travis entered the courtroom while my parents, SammiJo, and I waited outside the courtroom a bit longer for Travis’s family. A US Marshal approached my father and asked him if he was Mr. Ford. We gestured toward the defendant’s table and told the Marshal Travis was already inside with his attorney. My heart began to race and the intuition in my stomach began to fire. My parents were asking me questions as they had no experience in court proceedings, but my brain couldn’t process the information. I only remember responding I wasn’t available for questions until the hearing was over. My mind was filled with so many questions about this Marshal, what was he saying to Travis, was this normal because it didn’t feel normal, and had we done enough?
I don’t know what sitting behind Travis was really going to afford anyone, but I couldn’t wait outside the courtroom any longer. As calm as I wanted to be, I was anything but. My heart still races today as I type this account of the events, but it was racing out of control in the moment. My nervous system was not to be soothed. I could only imagine what Travis was experiencing.
As the moments ticked by and time grew near for the hearing to begin, Travis’s family was not present. Travis’s hearing had been moved up to 12:30 pm to accommodate the jury’s lunch for a separate ongoing proceeding. There had been a miscommunication about the time change with his family, and I couldn’t take my phone into the courtroom so I had no way of checking on them. Was this the surprise?
Judge John Gerard began the proceeding acknowledging the probation representative present in the courtroom. Judge Gerard accepted the plea agreement and adopted the presentence report from the probation office. He then moved to the motion Travis’s attorney had made for downward departure (i.e. a lighter sentence). The judge said Travis’s employment history, the psyop effects of social media, and the argument for aberrant behavior was all irrelevant and overruled the motion.
Well, that’s not a good sign. The judge’s intensity in communication was also ringing through loud and clear.
Travis’s attorney argued for the downward variance stating this conduct did not align with Travis’s character, the threats were made for a short amount of time and had ceased prior to any legal intervention. His attorney reiterated this occurred during a confusing and stressful time with COVID. Travis had cooperated fully with the investigation as well as all follow up. There was nothing to indicate action would be taken on the threats made, and Travis had expressed genuine remorse. His attorney highlighted the evaluations which had been completed and their recommendations as well as Travis’s efforts toward full rehabilitation in complying with programming, including anger management. Lastly, Travis’s record had no additional crimes in his 42 years.
The prosecution argued the epidemic of threats to election workers was on the rise with 1 in 6 election workers receiving threats solely because of their job. He also made a three prong argument for the full sentence to be handed down: the seriousness, nature, and volume of threats, deterrence, and responding to the defense’s points.
The prosecution stated the seriousness of the offense was demonstrated due to the campaign of threats made to multiple individuals and those made to Ms. Griswold had been on her personal IG account. He stated this behavior had caused Ms. Griswold to feel threatened.
How could this be I questioned in my mind? How would he know what Ms. Griswold thought or felt since she had not submitted a victim impact statement as documented in the probation’s Presentence Report? Where was this information coming from when there was no evidence to attest to it?
The prosecutor specifically noted the threats made toward POTUS and Mark Zuckerberg and cited law demonstrating the fact the threats had been made anonymously, through an account that was not Travis’s, increased the degree of the crime.
The prosecution stated even though Travis didn’t impose threat of taking action on the social media threats nor to be at risk for re-offense, the court should be focused on deterrence as this case is being watched to see how the court responds and upholds these new prosecutions. The prosecution closed by saying Travis’s work history isn’t a reason to grant a downward variance, and even though Travis did accept responsibility a sentence of 24 months in prison is warranted.
Travis addressed the court briefly, exactly has he had been coached, taking accountability for his actions, acknowledging his actions caused harm to others, and admitting this has been shameful and embarrassing not only to him but to his family and community.
The judge then gave his reasons for the sentence he would impose. Judge Gerard said the threats were made over the course of 2.5-3 months, and he would not consider this timeframe to be short. He stated there were numerous threats and not a few. Judge Gerard said Ms. Griswold did not influence Travis’s vaccination fear as she wasn’t even Travis’s representative and went so far as to call this factor “non-sense”. He reviewed the comments made to POTUS and VPOTUS and Mark Zuckerberg stating those comments were not mainstream but rather discourse that he would not normalize. He stated the sentence must deter and promote respect to the law, and this is the exact reason Congress passed law to protect election officials. Judge Gerard did acknowledge Travis’s lack of criminal history and his rehabilitative efforts.
The tone was palpable, the sentence had been telegraphed. The hammer was about to be dropped.
And the sentence shall be 18 months of incarceration with one-year supervised release served at the facility closest to Lincoln with a recommendation to Yankton Prison Camp.
Even though part of the plea agreement made Travis waive his appeal rights, the Judge indicated Travis had 14 days to appeal the decision to a higher court. Could or couldn’t Travis appeal the case? We never did receive a clear response from his attorney after the hearing.
Prior to the conclusion of sentencing, Travis’s attorney requested self-surrender so Travis could begin serving his sentence after his classification had been determined by the Bureau of Prisons, and self-surrender was granted. He was to begin his sentence in 90 days and be supervised with pretrial conditions until January 11th.
I walked out of the courtroom grateful his family had not witnessed this. As I left the courtroom, I witnessed the prosecutor shaking Travis’s attorney’s hand and saying something to him. We would later discover the prosecutor had told Travis’s attorney that even he was surprised Travis had not been given probation. It seemed the only party not on board with Travis having community based supervision was the judge since the presentence report by the probation office recommended a sentence of probation. Interesting…
I left the courtroom perplexed at what I had just witnessed especially in light of my own life circumstances. This election official’s safety held a heavier sanction than that of threats waged at POTUS, VPOTUS, or any other public service official. How ironic all of this was being “pushed” through the courts with mid-terms just weeks away. For those of you who don’t know me well, I don’t believe in irony or coincidence.
And then there was my own reality. While I was working as a probation officer, back in the days when I would get sick throughout the year needing several prescriptions and a couple weeks off work to get back on my feet, I was at the pharmacy getting scripts filled for another bout of bronchitis. I was signing the slips to receive the meds, which had my personal information and address on them, when someone standing over my shoulder began speaking to me. It was one of my probationers. Months later I violated her probation, and while she was facing a prison sentence she phoned me to tell me she knew where I lived and would be sending people over to handle me. Did she receive additional charges? Nope. Was any action taken to protect me? Nope. This is the only time I declined testifying in a violation hearing and requested the county attorney make their case from the evidence alone.
How are threats and violence normalized for public officials while election officials get afforded a more significant level of protection and deterrence? I am not saying this type of behavior should be expected or tolerated for any public service position. Rather, I believe threats to all public service workers should be handled the same across the board, and society should take a more rational approach to their upset than waging threats and violence toward other humans.
The night of sentencing, as everything appeared to be falling apart, I received an email response from News for the Soul Broadcasting Network. Many weeks prior and entirely out of the blue I had received an invitation to host a radio show on their network. The topic and content of this radio show would be entirely at my choosing, no censorship. I had taken time to research the network and see what size of platform and impact the opportunity truly had. My response to the network did not feel very prompt. I had come to terms a few days before sentencing that I had likely been too slow and would not be starting this opportunity at this time.
However, on the same day I learned the timeline of when I would be able to talk about Travis’s case, I also received an email to connect with the owner of the network so we could work out the details to launch my show! If Travis had been placed on probation, I would not have spoken out about his case for fear they would revoke his probation and resentence him to prison. In just 90 days the world could come to know our story, and I had just been granted a platform to tell it. Perhaps everything was somehow falling into place in a way I could not yet fully understand.
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Peace & Love,
Janessa