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What is threatening federal judge charges
|Thanks for visiting Spodek Law Group – a second-generation criminal defense law firm managed by Todd Spodek. We’ve been handling federal criminal defense cases for over 40 years, combined experience that comes from defending clients in cases that other attorneys wouldn’t touch. You’ve probably heard about some of them – like when Todd represented Anna Delvey in the Netflix series, or the juror misconduct case in the Ghislaine Maxwell trial, or the Alec Baldwin stalking case that made national headlines.
This article covers what it means to face federal charges for threatening a federal judge under 18 USC 115, why these prosecutions have exploded in 2025, and what sentences defendants are actually getting right now. If you’re reading this, you need to understand that threatening a federal judge isn’t like threatening someone on the street – it’s a federal crime that prosecutors won’t plea down, judges won’t dismiss, and the U.S. Marshals Service investigates immediately.
18 USC 115 Doesn’t Require You Meant It
18 USC 115 makes it a federal crime to threaten, assault, kidnap, or murder a federal official – including federal judges and their family members – with intent to impede, intimidate, interfere with, or retaliate against them while performing official duties. The statute doesn’t require that you actually intended to carry out the threat. Federal prosecutors only need to prove you knowingly communicated the threat.
That’s where defendants get tripped up, they think posting something online in anger isn’t a “real” threat because they didn’t plan to act on it. Doesn’t matter. If you sent the message knowing it would be received as a threat – you’ve committed the crime.
Threatening assault carries up to 6 years in federal prison. Threatening kidnapping or murder carries up to 10 years. If you actually assault a federal judge, the penalties jump – physical contact means up to 10 years, bodily injury means up to 20 years, using a dangerous weapon means up to 30 years.
What 2025 Sentences Actually Look Like
Federal judges received 562 threats so far this year according to the U.S. Marshals Service, which tracks every threat and investigates every case. Threats against federal judges doubled between 2021 and 2024. The cases from 2025 show exactly how federal prosecutors handle these charges.
Dolly Patterson, a 46-year-old California woman, got the maximum sentence – five years in federal prison – for sending one threatening message through an online form in April 2023. She wrote to a federal judge in Amarillo: “Tell that anti-abortion judge he better watch his back…” That single message was enough. She pleaded guilty, and in October 2025 the judge gave her the statutory maximum.
Nathanael Michael West from Idaho got eight years for sending threatening letters to a federal judge and a federal prosecutor. He pleaded guilty to all four counts in August 2025 – 96 months in federal prison, three years of supervised release.
Nicholas Roske is the case everyone remembers. He traveled from California to Justice Brett Kavanaugh’s home in Maryland in June 2022, armed with a gun, knife, zip ties, and other tools to kill him. Roske called 911 on himself before going through with it. He pleaded guilty and got 97 months – just over eight years – in October 2025. The DOJ asked for 30 years to life. Attorney General Pam Bondi called the sentence “woefully insufficient.”
Why Prosecutors Make These Cases a Priority
The U.S. Marshals Service logged 364 different judges who were named in threats this year out of approximately 2,500 active federal judges – that’s one in seven judges threatened. The Marshals Service is already running $140 million short of what they need to protect judges adequately, according to congressional testimony from 2025.
DOJ makes these cases a priority because judicial independence depends on judges being able to rule without fear of violence. If judges worry about getting killed for their rulings, the entire federal court system breaks down. So prosecutors don’t offer favorable plea deals on 18 USC 115 charges. They don’t recommend probation. They push for prison time that sends a message.
Federal judges sentencing defendants under 18 USC 115 tend to impose serious prison time even for first-time offenders. They know the victims in these cases, they’ve served with them, they understand what it’s like to receive death threats for doing your job. That’s why Dolly Patterson got the maximum five years for a single message.
Sentencing Enhancements That Add Time
The federal sentencing guidelines include a specific enhancement for threatening federal officials. If you made a public threatening communication – like posting on social media – and you knew or should have known that the public threat created a substantial risk of inciting others to also violate 18 USC 115, the guidelines increase your offense level by 2 levels. That adds 4-6 months to your sentence range, sometimes more depending on your criminal history.
Prior criminal history matters enormously. Career offenders like Nathanael West get pushed toward the higher end of the sentencing range. Even first-time offenders are getting years in federal prison for single threatening messages.
What Happens After Federal Agents Arrest You
Federal agents show up – usually FBI or U.S. Marshals. They execute a search warrant on your home, seize your computers and phones, and take you into custody. The prosecutor argues you’re a danger to the community because you threatened a federal judge. The magistrate judge almost always orders you held without bond pending trial.
The U.S. Attorney’s Office subpoenas your internet service provider for logs showing when you sent the message. They get records from whatever platform you used. They present all of this evidence to a federal grand jury, which indicts you.
Trials in these cases are risky – the government’s burden of proof is just to show you knowingly communicated a threat. Most defendants plead guilty, like Dolly Patterson and Nathanael West and Nicholas Roske all did. Your attorney’s job is to present mitigation evidence – mental health issues, lack of prior criminal history, remorse – to convince the judge to sentence you at the low end of the guidelines or below.
Why You Need Federal Criminal Defense Attorneys
State prosecutors can’t charge you with threatening a federal judge – it’s exclusively federal jurisdiction under 18 USC 115. That means the U.S. Attorney’s Office handles your case, and you appear in federal court where the sentencing guidelines are more rigid and prosecutors have more resources.
You can’t just hire any criminal defense lawyer for federal charges like this. At Spodek Law Group – we’ve handled federal cases for over 40 years. We know what federal prosecutors are thinking before they say it, because we’ve defended hundreds of federal criminal cases and we’ve won cases other attorneys said were impossible to win. Todd Spodek has built his reputation on taking difficult federal cases and finding ways to get clients the outcomes they need – whether that’s negotiating a favorable plea agreement, winning at trial, or presenting mitigation at sentencing that convinces the judge to show leniency.
Our firm handles federal cases nationwide, with offices throughout NYC and Long Island and the ability to appear in federal courts coast-to-coast. We’re available 24/7 because federal investigations don’t happen on a 9-to-5 schedule. If you’re facing 18 USC 115 charges or you’re under investigation for threatening a federal official, call us now. Federal criminal defense isn’t about hope – it’s about strategy, experience, and knowing exactly how to fight for you when the U.S. government is on the other side.