Man charged after racist death threats to Oakland Mayor Barbara Lee

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Oakland Mayor Barbara Lee delivered her first State of the City address Tuesday night, just 140 days after taking office. Speaking before the Oakland City Council, Lee highlighted what she called early successes tied to her "100 Day Plan," which focused on improving public safety and cleaning city streets.

OAKLAND, Calif. - A 45-year-old man faces hate crime charges after allegedly sending threatening and racist emails to Oakland Mayor Barbara Lee, including threats to kill and torture her, authorities said.

The Alameda County District Attorney’s Office charged David Pokorny, of El Cerrito, with threatening a public official and hate crime.

He remains in custody at Santa Rita Jail in Dublin with bail set at $70,000.

Disturbing emails sent to mayor

Members of Mayor Lee’s staff contacted law enforcement after receiving several threatening and disturbing emails sent from an unfamiliar Google account, officials said.

The first email from the defendant was received on Sept. 7, but a staff member discovered the emails on Sept. 22 while checking the mayor’s inbox. The messages contained explicit threats and racial slurs.

One email sent Sept. 7 contained racist language and threats to kill Lee and other government officials.

"I want all the [N-word] in Oakland killed. They’re an unhealthy pest. If you want to keep the [expletive] alive, then I want you killed, too," the email read in part. "I think we should kill all of the government officials in Oakland and all of the police officers and judges in Oakland as well."

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Another email, sent on Sept. 21, stated:"You are a psychopath, and I’m going to torture and murder you."

Lee and her staff deemed the threats credible and reported them to authorities. The investigation led to Pokorny’s arrest and formal charges this week.

Rise in threats against public officials

Violence and threats targeting elected leaders, lawmakers, and public officials are increasing, according to the Associated Press.

In June, a Minnesota lawmaker was killed and another wounded in a targeted attack by a man posing as a police officer.

Investigators later found writings listing dozens of Democratic members of Congress, state legislators, and others the suspect allegedly intended to target.