Man gets 2 years for threats to CDC director

A Mississippi man allegedly upset about the coronavirus vaccination program has been sentenced to two years in prison for threatening federal health officials, prosecutors said.

Robert Wiser Bates, 39, of Ridgeland, placed phone calls to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in Atlanta in July 2021 and left threatening voice mails for the agency’s director, Rochelle Walensky, according to the office of U.S. Attorney Darren J. Lamarca.

An investigation found Bates made similar threats toward Anthony S. Fauci, who was director of the National Institutes of Allergy and Infectious Disease, Lamarca’s office said.

Bates pleaded guilty Dec. 19 to charges of making threats in interstate commerce.