Man in Murkowski threat case kept low profile in Alaska town

By MARK THIESSEN
Associated Press

ANCHORAGE, Alaska (AP) — A rural Alaska man with a history of alcohol-related offenses, including one while he had a weapon, now faces a charge of threatening the life of a U.S. senator. Jay Allen Johnson was scheduled to be arraigned later Friday on charges related to threats authorities say he made to hire an assassin to kill U.S. Sen. Lisa Murkowski. Johnson was arrested Monday and was being held in a Fairbanks jail ahead of the federal court hearing. His public defender, Gary Colbath, said Friday that the office does not comment on pending cases. Among the over 20 court cases against him are several drunken driving offenses, including a related case in which he had a weapon while intoxicated.