Misdemeanor charges have been filed against a Phoenix man who is accused of sending a threatening email to Maricopa County Supervisor Bill Gates.

The man, Ryan Stuart Hadland, faces charges of using “an electronic communication to terrify, intimidate, threaten or harass," said Arizona Attorney General Kris Mayes in a press release. 

The charges, filed June 1, in Maricopa County Superior Court, alleges that on Nov. 12 Hadland sent a threatening email to Gates.

The class 1 misdemeanor has penalties of up to six months in jail and a $2,500 fine, according to state officials.

The case has been assigned to Pima County Superior Court Judge Scott McDonald, who will handle the matter in Maricopa County. 

Gates, a Republican who worked to bat down election information and a hostile political landscape in 2020 and 2022, announced he will not be seeking re-election.

Initially, the press release said the man was indicted "when it should have been referred to as filing of a criminal" charge, the AG said on its website.