A Nebraska man faces up to two years in prison for threatening Colorado Secretary of State Jena Griswold over Instagram, federal officials said.

Travis Ford, 42, of Lincoln, pleaded guilty Thursday to sending threatening messages with a telecommunications device to Griswold’s personal Instagram account in August, prosecutors said.

“Do you feel safe? You shouldn’t. Do you think Soros will/can protect you?” one message read. Another message said: “Your security detail is far too thin and incompetent to protect you. This world is unpredictable these days … anything can happen to anyone.” 

This remark was followed by a shrugging-shoulder emoji.

Ford made other posts on social media associated with President Joe Biden and “another public figure,” according to a news release from the U.S. attorney’s office in Colorado. 

Ford is scheduled to be sentenced Oct. 6. FBI agents in Denver and Omaha investigated the case, which is part of the Election Threats Task Force launched last year to address violent intimidation against election workers and help ensure the right to vote. This is the first guilty plea in a case brought by the task force.

Griswold’s personal Instagram account is filled with political vitriol from anonymous posters who advance election fraud claims and accuse her of treason.

“Enjoy your freedom, because it won’t be long until you get what you deserve,” one post said.

“Tick tock tick tock traitOr,” said another.

At issue for prosecutors who pursue such cases is where to draw the line between free speech and criminal behavior.

“Threats of violence against election officials are dangerous for people’s safety and dangerous for our democracy, and we will use every resource at our disposal to disrupt and investigate those threats and hold perpetrators accountable,” Attorney General Merrick Garland said in a statement.  

The task force has also helped bring charges against at least two other people, including a charge in January against a man from Leander, Texas who prosecutors say threatened officials in Georgia. The defendant in that case allegedly posted a message to Craigslist entitled, “Georgia Patriots it’s time to kill [Official A] the Chinese agent – $10,000.”