Ex-teacher gets 5 years in prison for threatening Florida judge in LGBTQ case
A retired teacher was sentenced to five years in prison for threatening in obscenity-filled voicemails to harm a federal judge in Florida who had rejected a challenge to the state’s so-called "don’t say gay."
A retired teacher was sentenced on Wednesday to five years in prison for threatening in obscenity-filled voicemails to harm a federal judge in Florida who had rejected a challenge to the state’s so-called “don’t say gay” law restricting classroom discussion of sexual orientation and gender identity.
U.S. District Judge William Jung in Tampa sentenced Stephen Thorn, 66, to the maximum sentence possible after he pleaded guilty in May to a single threat charge. The sentence was twice as long as prosecutors had sought.
Thorn’s lawyer did not respond to a request for comment. In a letter filed in court, Thorn apologized, saying he “rashly and angrily” over-reacted after reading a news story about the judge’s ruling.
Prosecutors in court papers said the case was an example of the rising numbers of threats against federal judges nationally, a trend they attributed to how judicial opinions are viewed in an increasingly ideological country.
Serious threats against federal judges rose to 457 in fiscal year 2023, which ended on Sept. 30, from 224 in fiscal 2021, the U.S. Marshals Service says. The phenomena was documented in a Reuters investigation this year.
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