During a court-ordered psychological evaluation, Neal Sidhwaney said he had threatened Chief Justice John Roberts. | Jose Luis Magana/AP
12/18/2023 08:53 PM EST
A Florida man has pleaded guilty to threatening to kill a Supreme Court justice, the Justice Department said Monday.
Neal Sidhwaney, 43, of Fernandina Beach, entered a guilty plea Friday in federal court in Jacksonville, Florida, to a single felony count of making an interstate threat to injure, court records show.
Sidhwaney made the threat twice in a voicemail message left on July 31, 2023, according to court filings.
Prosecutors did not identify the targeted justice in court papers or in the statement Monday. But, during a court-ordered psychological evaluation, Sidhwaney said he had threatened Chief Justice John Roberts.
In the voicemail, Sidhwaney introduced himself and he had a message that he wanted the U.S. Marshals to deliver to Roberts that included “I will fucking kill you,” according to a court a court document filed in connection with the plea hearing last week.
Sidhwaney was arrested in August and has been in custody since. The psychologist who evaluated him found the defendant competent to stand trial and of “superior” intelligence, but suffering from “delusional disorder with psychosis.” He’s under treatment with an anti-psychotic drug, the doctor said.
Sidhwaney could receive up to five years in prison on the charge, but defendants typically receive less time under federal guidelines.
The court filings don’t indicate what, if any, action by the court prompted the threat.
Security around the high court and the justices has been stepped up since last year, when the high-profile abortion case decided by the court prompted a surge in threats.
A California man, Nicholas Roske, was discovered outside Justice Brett Kavanaugh’s Maryland home in June 2022. He has pleaded not guilty to attempting to assassinate the judge and is being held pending trial.
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