A California woman is facing the maximum sentence in prison after threatening a federal judge in Texas for opposing abortion.
Dolly Patterson was sentenced on September 30 to the “statutory maximum sentence” in prison for threatening a U.S. district judge in Amarillo for opposing abortion, according to a press release from the U.S. Attorney’s Office, Northern District of Texas.
“Threats of violence to our judges are becoming all too common – whether made online or in person,” said Acting U.S. Attorney Nancy Larson in the release. “Such threats are illegal and will be prosecuted.”
In April 2023, U.S. District Judge Matthew Kacsmaryk suspended FDA approval of the abortion pill mifepristone, which had been on the market for nearly 20 years, as The Dallas Express previously reported.
Patterson threatened Kacsmaryk around April 16, 2023, according to Reuters. The U.S. Marshals led the investigation.
“Tell this anti-abortion judge he better watch his back – and that of his kids – the rest of his life,” she sent through an online contact form.
In court, Patterson acknowledged sending the threat, according to the DOJ. She reportedly admitted to intending the message as a “genuine threat,” and agreed that it was a “true threat to injure another person.”
Anyone who threatens to “assault, kidnap, or murder” a federal judge or his family, aiming to retaliate or interfere with his duties, faces a maximum of 10 years in prison – except for threatened assault, which is a maximum of six years, according to federal law. Meanwhile, the maximum sentence for sending an interstate threat is five years in prison.
Patterson faces five years in prison, according to Reuters.
“The safety of our federal judiciary is paramount,” Larson said in the release.
This follows repeated instances of political violence against officials in Texas.
Militants linked to Antifa ambushed the ICE Prairieland Detention Facility in Alvarado on July 4, shooting a police officer in the neck, as The Dallas Express previously reported. Investigators discovered some suspects in the attack with insurrectionist propaganda.
Days later, on July 7, a gunman opened fire on Customs and Border Protection in McAllen – wounding an agent and two officers. His car was spray-painted with the message “Cordis Die,” a fictional slogan associated with the revolutionary movement in the video game Call of Duty.
More recently, a sniper targeted Dallas ICE on September 24, killing one detainee and wounding two others – one of whom later died, as The Dallas Express reported. Officials concluded the attacker was aiming to terrorize and kill ICE agents.
An Antifa-aligned assassin murdered Charlie Kirk on September 10, as The Dallas Express reported at the time. Before his death, Kirk warned of a growing left-wing “assassination culture.”