Richard Hornsby, the chief operating officer of the Federal Housing Finance Agency, was found not guilty of threatening former FHFA Acting Director Ed DeMarco.
Hornsby stood accused of threatening to kidnap or injure a person after he allegedly threatened DeMarco at the FHFA’s headquarters in late April.
According to court records, Hornsby was charged with one felony count on April 30 and issued a “do not assault, threaten, harass or stalk” order, preventing him from taking any further action against DeMarco.
Per a new report from the Wall St. Journal, Hornsby went to trial this week and was found not guilty of making violent threats against DeMarco.
From the Wall St. Journal report:
Judge Juliet McKenna of D.C. Superior Court on Thursday found Mr. Hornsby not guilty of the two charges, after a trial that started Tuesday, according to court records.
Hornsby was placed on leave from the FHFA when the charges were initially filed, but allowed to retain his title.
According to the FHFA’s website, Hornsby joined the FHFA in 2011, after spending 26 years at the Federal Bank of San Francisco. At the FHFA, he “is responsible for managing the Agency’ s operations and oversees FHFA’s administrative and support services, including budget and finance, communications, congressional affairs, human resources, information technology and quality assurance.”
From the Wall St. Journal report:
“Mr. Hornsby showed his faith in the judicial system, and the judicial system worked for him,” said Marlon Griffith, a lawyer for Mr. Hornsby who said the allegations were based on an employee who was upset about an internal reorganization.
