Chattanooga Man Sentenced To 24 Months' Imprisonment For Threatening To Kill Member Of Congress

CHATTANOOGA, Tenn. - On September 10, 2025, Garry Lebron Hayes, 45, of Chattanooga, Tennessee, was sentenced to 24 months in prison by the Honorable Curtis L. Collier, United States District Judge, in the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Tennessee at Chattanooga. Following his imprisonment, he will be on supervised release for one year.

As part of the plea agreement filed with the court, Hayes agreed to plead guilty to an indictment charging him with knowingly and willfully transmitting in interstate commerce a communication containing a threat to injure the person of another, in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 875(c).

According to filed court documents, in July of 2024, Hayes called the district office of a Member of Congress and left the following voicemail: "Chattanooga. I'm in Chattanooga. Yeah, you better ask your kids to f***ing finally kiss your a**-'cause I'm gonna beat your a** b**ch. I'm gonna kill your a**. I'm gonna kill you b**ch." Additional evidence of Hayes's relevant conduct introduced at the sentencing hearing revealed that, in January of 2024, Hayes, while outside the state of Tennessee, called the office of a different Member of Congress, which was not located in the state of Tennessee, and left that Member a voicemail, identifying the Member by name and stating: "I will slice your throat, mother f***er."

The Court-determined applicable sentencing guidelines range was 18-24 months. The United States advocated for a top of the guidelines sentence of 24 months. In imposing a 24-month sentence, the Court stressed that society must be protected from Hayes, and others like him, who threaten to maim, and murder elected officials with whom they disagree.

U.S. Attorney Francis M. Hamilton III of the Eastern District of Tennessee and Special Agent in Charge, Joseph Carrico, Federal Bureau of Investigation, made the announcement.

Assistant United States Attorney David P. Lewen, Jr. represented the United States.

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