Man accused of stalking a Wisconsin Supreme Court justice is sentenced to probation in plea deal
MADISON, Wis. — A Wisconsin man accused of sending bullying emails to the state Supreme Court’s chief justice has been sentenced to probation.
Ryan Thornton, 37, of Racine, was charged in Dane County in October with one count of stalking as well as misdemeanor counts of intimidation of a victim and disorderly conduct.
According to a criminal complaint, Thornton sent emails to Chief Justice Jill Karofsky last fall accusing her of being manipulative, telling her to “kick” herself out of office and asking for her home address.
Online court records show prosecutors dismissed the stalking charge Monday. In exchange, Thornton pleaded guilty to the misdemeanor charges and was sentenced to two years of probation. He was also ordered to have no contact with Karofsky and was banned from Dane County, where the state Supreme Court chambers are located in the capital Madison.
Thornton’s attorney, listed in court records as Anthony John Jurek, did not immediately respond Tuesday to an email message from The Associated Press seeking comment.
Thornton told investigators he was angry at a lawyer he hired to represent him in a 2019 strangulation case and that the Office of Lawyer Regulation, an office of the Supreme Court that disciplines lawyers, failed to investigate the lawyer. According to the complaint, Thornton called the office more than 70 times between Aug. 1 and Oct. 1 to complain about the attorney.
Karofsky told investigators that Thornton’s messages frightened her to the point that she was afraid to leave her house to get her mail and asked police to escort her to her seat at a Milwaukee Brewers game and a Wisconsin Badgers game.
