Texas Woman Charged with Threatening to Kill Federal Judge Overseeing Trump’s Trial
A Texas woman named Abigail Jo Shry has been charged with making death threats against Judge Tanya S. Chutkan, the federal judge in Washington who is overseeing the prosecution of former President Donald J. Trump on charges related to the 2020 election.
According to a criminal complaint unsealed on Friday, Shry, a resident of Alvin, Texas, called Judge Chutkan’s chambers on August 5, just two days after Trump was arraigned on charges of seeking to overturn the election. In a voicemail message, Shry used a racial slur to attack the judge, who is African American. The message also included a threat, stating, “If Trump doesn’t get elected in 2024, we are coming to kill you, so tread lightly, bitch.” She further added, “You will be targeted personally, publicly, your family, all of it.”
The criminal complaint also revealed that Shry issued a threat against Representative Sheila Jackson Lee, another African American Democrat from Texas.
This incident comes amid a history of Trump verbally attacking judges and other individuals involved in his criminal cases, often on social media. On his social media platform, Truth Social, Trump posted a message the day before the call, stating, “IF YOU GO AFTER ME, I’M COMING AFTER YOU!” However, his campaign clarified that these words were not directed at anyone involved in the election interference case.
Judge Chutkan later warned Trump about making “inflammatory statements” that could intimidate witnesses or compromise the integrity of the case. Despite this warning, Trump posted several messages on Truth Social that criticized Judge Chutkan and supported the claims made against her by others. One post, by Trump ally Mike Davis, featured a photo of the judge with text falsely claiming she openly admitted to running election interference against him.
Federal agents paid a visit to Shry’s home three days after she left the threatening message for Judge Chutkan. She admitted to making the call but claimed she had no plans to go to Washington or Houston, where Representative Jackson Lee represents. However, she expressed concern if Jackson Lee were to visit Alvin.
Following a detention hearing in Federal District Court in Houston, Shry was denied bail on Wednesday and ordered to be held in custody for at least 30 days. During the hearing, Shry’s father testified that she was a “nonviolent alcoholic” who frequently watched the news and made threats after drinking too much.
While no evidence suggests a direct link between Trump’s supporters and Shry’s threats, it is noteworthy that some of Trump’s supporters have resorted to violence in response to actions taken against him by the criminal justice system. Last year, after the FBI searched Mar-a-Lago, Trump’s private club in Florida, an armed Ohio man attempted to break into the bureau’s field office in Cincinnati and was ultimately killed in a shootout with local police.