A Texas woman has been charged with threatening to kill a judge who is overseeing a criminal case against former US President Donald Trump.
Abigail Jo Shry, 43, allegedly phoned the court in Washington DC on 5 August and used a racial slur in her message for US District Judge Tanya Chutkan.
Ms Shry also allegedly threatened to kill a Democratic member of Congress.
She admitted making the call after investigators traced her phone number, according to a court document.
- In the call, Ms Shry allegedly told the judge, who is overseeing an election conspiracy case against Mr Trump: “You are in our sights, we want to kill you.”
Prosecutors say Ms Shry added: “If Trump doesn’t get elected in 2024, we are coming to kill you.”
The caller also threatened all Democrats in Washington DC and the LGBT community, according to the court filing.
She allegedly also threatened to kill congresswoman Sheila Jackson Lee, a black Texas Democrat who is running for mayor of Houston.
When federal agents visited Ms Shry’s home in the Houston suburb of Alvin three days later she said she had harboured no intention of going to Washington DC to carry out her threats, according to the court filing.
But she allegedly added that “if Sheila Jackson Lee comes to Alvin, then we need to worry”.
A day before the threatening phone call, Mr Trump had posted on his social media platform, Truth Social, in all capital letters: “If you go after me, I’m coming after you!” He had been arraigned a day earlier on the election plot charges.
Last Friday Judge Chutkan warned at a court hearing that both sides should avoid any “inflammatory statements” about the case.
Meanwhile, supporters of Mr Trump have posted personal details of the Georgia grand jury members who voted to indict him over election interference allegations earlier this week.
A report by a private investigative organisation found social media users had called for violence to be used against them and Fani Willis – the lead prosecutor in the case against the former president.
On Monday, a 98-page indictment was unsealed and claimed Mr Trump “unlawfully conspired” to change the election outcome while participating in a “criminal enterprise”.
He denies all charges. Ms Willis has given Mr Trump and 18 other defendants the opportunity to voluntarily surrender no later than noon on 25 August.
BBC NEWS
