Marionville man who threatened to lynch Emanuel Cleaver, Tennessee congressman sentenced to 30 months

(From the U. S. Attorney for the Western District of Missouri)

A Marionville, Missouri, man was sentenced in federal court today for threatening two members of the U.S. House of Representatives.

Kenneth R. Hubert, 63, was sentenced by U.S. District Judge M. Douglas Harpool to two years and six months in federal prison without parole.

On June 17, 2021, Hubert pleaded guilty to two counts of threatening to injure federal officials.

Hubert admitted that he threatened to assault U.S. Representative Emanuel Cleaver II on Jan. 7, 2021, with the intent to impede, intimidate, and interfere with Cleaver while he was engaged in the performance of his official duties, and retaliate against Cleaver on account of the performance of his official duties. Cleaver represents the Fifth Congressional District in Missouri.

Hubert left a voicemail with Cleaver’s Independence, Mo., office. In this voicemail, which was received by a staff member, Hubert stated, “Cleaver’s got to be the dumbest n***** I’ve ever heard and that don’t speak much for the Black people in Kansas City and Independence and anyone else who voted for this clown. He’s as dumb as a rock. Amen, a-woman? How about a noose around his neck? He’s a dumb mother *****. He’s stupid as a idiot.”

Hubert also admitted that he threatened to assault U.S. Representative Steve Cohen on May 6, 2019, with the intent to impede, intimidate, and interfere with Cohen while he was engaged in the performance of his official duties, and retaliate against Cohen on account of the performance of his official duties. Hubert called Cohen’s office in Washington, D.C. Cohen represents the Ninth Congressional District in Tennessee.

During this phone call, Hubert told a staff member of Cohen that “he has a noose with the Congressman’s name on it” and planned to “put a noose around his neck and drag him behind his pickup truck.” Hubert later told investigators that he made the call because he was offended by a comment Representative Cohen previously made about then-President Donald Trump.

According to court documents, Hubert made several other threats from 2014 to Jan. 6, 2021, including threats on Jan. 6, 2021, to the Missouri Democratic Party, which related to the fatal riot at the U.S. Capitol and were made just a day before he made the charged threat to Cleaver. 

Hubert also threatened President Barack Obama and the Council of American-Islamic Relations as part of a pattern of threats to minorities, groups advocating for minorities and certain religious beliefs, and members of a specific political party. Despite law enforcement directing him on several occasions to cease these types of communications, Hubert continued to make threats.

This case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Casey Clark. It was investigated by the FBI, the U.S. Capitol Police, the Independence, Mo., Police Department and the Marionville-Aurora, Mo., Police Department.