A Kansas man who admitted to sending what federal prosecutors described as a racist death threat will now spend five years on probation.
Gage Hunter Clausen, age 21, of Cheney, was sentenced Wednesday in U.S. District Court in Wichita. He previously pleaded guilty to one count of interstate communication of a threat to injure.
In statements, the U.S. Attorney’s Office described the Snapchat message as “couched in racist language” and “a threat via the internet on the life of a juvenile.”
The maximum penalty for the felony crime is five years in prison and a fine of up to $250,000 in addition to a $100 mandatory assessment. Prosecutors had agreed to recommend probation as part of a plea deal. No fine was ordered.
While on probation, Clausen is prohibited from using Facebook and Snapchat, District Judge John Broomes ordered at the request of prosecutors. Clausen was not banned from using other social media websites.
“Gage Clausen threatened serious bodily harm against another person via the Internet,” Acting U.S. Attorney Duston Slinkard in a statement on March 4, when the plea hearing took place. “His plea of guilty today should send a message that, you cannot hide behind a computer keyboard and make threats against another person with impunity. These threats are taken seriously, they are investigated and people are held accountable.”
As part of his plea agreement, Clausen admitted he posted on the victim’s Snapchat page: “(Racial slur) id skin you like a (expletive) (other racial slur). Oh (other expletive) no difference you’re a filthy farm animal maybe you’d be good probably just get whipped and burned run away marks.”
The message was sent to a 15-year-old Black student at Derby High School. Clausen is White, Sedgwick County jail records show.
The incident happened on June 27, 2020, after the teenager had posted a request on Snapchat for people to send him photos of a party he had attended the previous day. Clausen’s threat was a response to the boy’s posting.
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