A man from Las Vegas has been charged with 22 criminal counts for allegedly threatening to kill federal judges and other officials in New York and Washington, as announced by the Department of Justice on Tuesday.
Spencer Gear is accused of making numerous threatening phone calls and sending emails aimed at federal judges and employees from November last year to this month, according to federal prosecutors. He faces 10 counts of threatening a federal official and 12 counts of transmitting threats to injure.
First Day of Deliberations in Trump’s case
While the court documents do not reveal the names of the judges targeted, the initials provided suggest they include two judges linked to former President Trump’s legal cases: Judge Lewis Kaplan, who presided over two civil trials against Trump in New York, and Judge Juan Merchan, who handled Trump’s criminal trial in New York.
Politico reported that Gear also issued threats to five district court judges in Washington: Beryl Howell, Reggie Walton, Christopher Cooper, Jia Cobb, and Colleen Kollar-Kotelly.
Attorney General Merrick Garland emphasized the importance of public servants being able to work without fear for their lives, stating, “The citizens we rely on to serve the public must be able to do their jobs without fearing for their lives. The Justice Department has no tolerance for acts and threats of violence targeting public servants, and we will stop at nothing to find and bring to justice those responsible.”
Gear’s trial is set for September 24. If convicted, he could face up to 10 years for each count of threatening a federal official and five years for each count of transmitting a threat.
