A woman from Texas has been accused of making threats to harm a judge who is in charge of a legal case involving the ex-President of the United States, Donald Trump.
A person named Abigail Jo Shry, 43 years old, reportedly called a court in Washington DC on August 5th. In her message, she used a racist word and threatened to harm a Democratic member of Congress, according to officials. After investigators tracked her phone number, she confessed to making the call.
The strict judge in charge of Trump’s election case was reportedly targeted in a threatening call. The person on the call, supposedly Ms. Shry, said they were aiming at the judge and wanted to harm them. They also mentioned a threat that if Trump isn’t elected in 2024, they would come to harm the judge. The caller also made threats against Democrats in Washington DC and the LGBT community, as mentioned in the court documents.
She supposedly made threats to harm Congresswoman Sheila Jackson Lee, a Black Democratic leader from Texas who is also running for mayor of Houston.
When federal agents visited Ms. Shry’s home in the Houston suburb of Alvin three days later, she reportedly said she never intended to travel to Washington DC to carry out the threats. However, she mentioned that they should be concerned if Sheila Jackson Lee visits Alvin.
The day before the threatening phone call, former President 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 charged a day before for his involvement in an election-related scheme.
Last Friday, Judge Chutkan emphasized during a court hearing that both sides should avoid making provocative statements about the case.
Meanwhile, supporters of Mr. Trump have shared personal information about the members of the Georgia grand jury who indicted him for alleged election interference. This has led to social media users encouraging violence against them and Fani Willis, the lead prosecutor in the case against the former president.
On Monday, a 98-page indictment was made public, claiming that Mr. Trump took part in an “unlawful conspiracy” to manipulate the election outcome as part of a “criminal enterprise.” He has denied all charges. Ms. Willis has given Mr. Trump and 18 other defendants the chance to surrender voluntarily by noon on August 25th.