A man who threatened to hang seven Arkansas mayors in threatening letters mailed in 2015 was sentenced to 18 months in federal prison Wednesday at a hearing in Texarkana.
Maverick Dean Bryan, 56, appeared with Texarkana attorney Jeff Harrelson for sentencing Wednesday before U.S. District Judge Susan Hickey. Bryan pleaded guilty in January to seven counts of mailing threatening communications for letters he sent to the mayors of Ashdown, Lewisville, Prescott, Murfreesboro, Hope, Nashville and DeQueen promising to hang them from trees on courthouse lawns if they didn’t put prayer back in classrooms and get rid of the Common Core curriculum.
Bryan signed the letters as Lt. Gary Owen, the same name used in a Thrifty Nickel ad soliciting a $23 million loan and volunteers for a Christian militia to overthrow the U.S. government in the months before the letters were mailed, according to court records. In a recorded conversation with an undercover source who responded to the ad, Bryan expressed a desire to kill living U.S. Presidents with an emphasis on Jimmy Carter.
At the time of his arrest at his home in Mineral Springs, Ark., Bryan, a convicted felon, was in possession of a firearm. A single weapons charge related to his arrest was dismissed at sentencing Wednesday.
Bryan received credit for approximately 16 months he has been in jail toward his 18-month sentence. Upon release, he will be supervised by federal probation for three years. If he breaks the law or violates the terms of his release, Bryan could be ordered to serve more time in prison.
