A Las Vegas man has been charged with 22 felony counts in connection with threatening to kill federal judges and other officials in New York and Washington, the Justice Department said. announced Tuesday.
Spencer Gear allegedly sent several threatening phone calls and emails threatening to kill judges and other federal employees between last November and this month, according to federal prosecutors. He was charged with 10 counts of threatening a federal employee and 12 counts of transmitting a communication containing a threat to injure.
Although court documents do not reveal the names of the threatened judges, the initials provided appear to identify two judges associated with former President Trump’s court cases; Judge Lewis Kaplan, who oversaw two civil trials against Trump in New York, and Judge Juan Merchan, who oversaw his criminal trial in New York.
Political reported that Gear also sent threats to five district court judges in Washington: Beryl Howell, Reggie Walton, Christopher Cooper, Jia Cobb and Colleen Kollar-Kotelly.
“The citizens we trust to serve the public must be able to do their jobs without fearing for their lives,” Attorney General Merrick Garland said in a statement. “The Department of Justice does not tolerate acts or threats of violence against public officials, and we will stop at nothing to find and bring those responsible to justice.”
Gear’s trial is scheduled for September 24. If he is convicted, he could face a maximum sentence of 10 years for each count of threatening a federal official and five years for each count of transmitting a threat.
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