Texas woman who threatened judge in Trump criminal case to be sentenced Wednesday

Despite President Trump’s words waves of forgiveness For allies and supporters who have sought to overturn his 2020 election defeat and his leniency toward all Capitol riot defendants, at least one federal case related to the 2020 election is still pending.

A federal judge in Houston will sentence Abigail Shry Wednesday afternoon, after she pleaded guilty to making telephone calls to U.S. District Judge Tanya Chutkan in August 2023 with vulgar, violent and racist threats. criminal case for allegedly conspiring to overturn his 2020 loss, of which January 6 was a component.

In charging documents, the Justice Department said Shry, 45, left a voicemail for Chutkan in which she threatened to kill anyone who “attacked President Trump.”

The document alleges that Shry called Chutkan a “slave,” used a racial epithet and made threats against a Texas Democratic congresswoman, “all Democrats” and the LGBTQ community.

Shry’s voicemail also said, “If Trump is not elected in 2024, we will come and kill you, so tread lightly,” according to Justice Department court documents.

Investigators say they linked the message to Shry after determining that her cell phone number was used to make the threatening call.

Shry pleaded guilty in November 2024 to a federal charge of transmitting an interstate threat. His sentencing hearing had been postponed several times before Wednesday’s court date. Sentencing recommendations, which are frequently released for public view on federal criminal case records, are not publicly listed in Shry’s case.

On the day of Shry’s guilty plea, the Justice Department provided more details about its investigation, saying that Shry admitted to making the call and “noted that she did not intend to travel anywhere to implement what she stated.” But she also reportedly told investigators that “if the congresswoman ever went to her town, then ‘we had to worry’.”

Shry’s case is one of a growing number of threats made against federal judges in recent years. Reports from the U.S. Marshals Service, which protects federal judges, indicate that more than 560 threats have been investigated so far this year. That’s more than all of 2024 and on track to match or exceed 2023 levels.

A federal judge briefly ordered Shry to remain in pretrial detention in the case. At a May 2024 hearing, a Justice Department prosecutor said, “My biggest concern in this case is that she starts watching FOX News again, gets excited, goes out, gets a case of beer, keeps getting excited.” There’s no way to gauge what’s going to happen here except to look at what she’s done over the last six months. »

A federal judge later released Shry on the condition that Shry not possess firearms or consume alcohol.

According to a sentencing report submitted by the Department of Justice in Shry’s case, Shry faces a maximum sentence of five years in prison. Federal defendants generally receive less than the maximum prison term.

Judge Keith Ellison of Houston will handle sentencing in Houston.