A Syracuse man who was convicted of making racist threats against former President Barack Obama and California Congresswoman Maxine Waters was sentenced today to four years in prison.

Stephen Taubert, 61, was found guilty by a jury of calling congressional offices in 2017 and 2018 and using racial slurs and other “vile” language to threaten public officials, prosecutors said.

Taubert argued his mental health and medical problems warranted a sentence of home detention. He spoke for about 15 minutes during his sentencing, remarking that he gets riled up when he sees negative comments about President Donald Trump on social media and the news.

“Probably the worst thing for me is social media," Taubert said today. “I should stay off of it. When I hear all these people knocking the president, it upsets me.”

U.S. District Court Judge Glenn Suddaby ordered Taubert to prison for 46 months, which works out to almost four years.

As he imposed the sentence, Suddaby referenced Taubert’s arguments during his case, and letters of support from friends and family saying the 61-year-old man would never follow through on a threat.

“They claim he’d never hurt anybody,” Suddaby said in court. “Mr. Taubert, you’ve repeatedly hurt people with your words.”

Suddaby rebuked Taubert for failing to heed warnings by law enforcement after multiple investigations into the man’s threatening phone calls, beginning in 2013 when Taubert threatened to burn down the NAACP building in Baltimore.

Suddaby said that visits from Secret Service and FBI agents, Capitol Police and local law enforcement did not deter Taubert from continuing to make threats.

Court papers said that even after Taubert’s arrest, he threatened to shoot multiple custody officers who he encountered with their own weapons. He called a Capitol Police officer “n----- boy” more than 30 times during a recorded interview, court papers said.

“You continued in your hateful speech,” Suddaby said. “... That’s what’s incredibly aggravating about your behavior.”

For his part, Taubert said he was a good person who treats his long-time partner well and has been studying the Bible while in jail awaiting the outcome of his sentence.

His defense lawyer, Courtenay McKeon of the Federal Public Defenders Office urged Suddaby to consider Taubert’s mental illness, which has been treated only sporadically throughout his life -- as well as serious medical ailments that made it difficult for him to stand during sentencing.

Taubert listed all the jobs he has held over the years, mostly in telemarketing and custodial work. He said he was not educated and “not smart," but hardworking.

Stephen Taubert, who was convicted of threatening to kill President Barack Obama and Congresswoman Maxine Waters, publicly shared an undated ID card from the Veterans Administration on his Facebook page.

“I’m sorry for the offensive language. That’s all it was," Taubert said. “It does get me upset when I listen to the news and they attack the United States president. He’s a good person and he’s done a lot for this country and the veterans.”

Taubert said he served in the U.S. Air Force for a period of time after being released from an in-patient mental heath facility as a teenager. He receives treatment for prostate and bladder issues, high blood pressure and epilepsy at the VA Hospital, according to court papers. Taubert has a history of aneurysm requiring heart surgery, mini-strokes and spinal cord damage. He suffered a brain stem bleed in 2011 and a subdural hematoma, or bleeding on the brain, in 2014, his lawyer wrote.

The lawyer argued because of these problems, Taubert should have received a similar sentence than two other men who called to threaten Maxine Waters. In those cases, the men pleaded guilty. They were sentenced to home detention and 18 months of prison, respectively.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Michael Gadarian said Taubert’s case was different because he has not accepted responsibility for the threats, and a jury found his crimes were racially motivated.

He said the judge regularly must sentence defendants with mental health problems -- but often those defendants have no family support.

“He was not alone in this world,” Gadarian said. “... He acted the way he did anyway.”

Public Affairs Reporter Julie McMahon covers federal courts, government, education and other issues affecting taxpayers. She can be reached anytime: Email| Twitter | 315-412-1992