A Texas woman was arrested and has been charged with threatening to kill the federal judge overseeing the criminal case against former President Donald Trump in Washington and a member of Congress.
Abigail Jo Shry of Alvin, Texas, called the federal courthouse in Washington and left the threatening message — using a racist term for U.S. District Judge Tanya Chutkan — on Aug. 5, court records show. Investigators traced her phone number and she later admitted to making the threatening call, according to a criminal complaint.
In the call, Shry told the judge, who is overseeing the election conspiracy case against Trump, “You are in our sights, we want to kill you," the documents said. Prosecutors allege Shry also said, “If Trump doesn't get elected in 2024, we are coming to kill you," and she threatened to kill U.S. Rep. Sheila Jackson Lee, a Texas Democrat running for mayor of Houston, according to court documents.
A judge earlier this week ordered Shry jailed. Court records show Shry is represented by the Houston public defender’s office, which did not immediately return a message seeking comment on Wednesday.
Trump has publicly assailed Chutkan, a former assistant public defender who was nominated to the bench by President Barack Obama, calling her “highly partisan” and “ VERY BIASED & UNFAIR!” because of her past comments in a separate case overseeing the sentencing of one of the defendants charged in the Jan. 6, 2021, riot at the U.S. Capitol.
Chutkan in a hearing Friday imposed a protective order in the case limiting what evidence handed over by prosecutors the former president and his legal team can publicly disclose. She warned Trump’s lawyers that his defense should be mounted in the courtroom and “not on the internet.”
Stocks turned lower Friday on Wall Street after New York became the latest major state to mandate nearly all workers stay home to limit the spread of the new coronavirus.
Senator Richard Burr (R-N.C.) is under intense scrutiny after an NPR report showed that he revealed the severity of the impending coronavirus crisis to a group of North Carolinians in private and warned of major life disruptions weeks before the federal government did the same. And, as the coronavirus outbreak continues to wreak havoc on supply chains, hospitals and markets, new financial disclosures show that Burr made big money moves before the indices showed the historic declines seen in recent weeks.
More than 60 percent of Americans also think a recession will come in the next year, according to a new study by YouGov.
Trump’s coronavirus task force on Thursday afternoon visited the Federal Emergency Management Agency to hear from several governors about the challenges facing their states.
In the morning conference, the governor also waived mortgage payments for 90 days and revealed the spike in new cases bringing the full total to 4,152, the most in the nation.
The drug, hydroxychloroquine, was developed more than a half-century ago and is approved for treating malaria, arthritis, and other ailments. Reports out of China and Italy suggest the drug may help, but there is no hard data yet.
Coronavirus has hit Capitol Hill, as the first members of Congress have tested positive for the virus. Reps. Mario Diaz-Balart (R-Fla.) and Ben McAdams (D-Utah) announced diagnoses late Wednesday.
The palace of Monaco says its head of state, Prince Albert II, has tested positive for the new coronavirus. In a statement Thursday, the palace of the tiny Mediterranean principality said that his health is not worrying.
GM and Tesla are among the top U.S. automakers that are looking to potentially switch over stalled auto production into the manufacturing of badly needed medical ventilators amid the coronavirus crisis.
Rep. Gabbard drops out of the Democratic presidential primary race and endorses former Vice President Joe Biden.
