“You are in our sights": Texas woman charged with threatening to kill judge in Trump case

Abigail Jo Shry was arrested after also allegedly threatening the life of Texas Rep. Shelia Jackson Lee

By Sophia Tesfaye

Senior Politics Editor

Published August 17, 2023 10:53AM (EDT)

Tanya Chutkan, Judge of the United States District Court for the District of Columbia (United States District Court for the District of Columbia)
Tanya Chutkan, Judge of the United States District Court for the District of Columbia (United States District Court for the District of Columbia)

"You are in our sights, we want to kill you."

According to a criminal complaint filed last week, Abigail Jo Shry, a resident of Alvin, Texas, called the chambers of U.S. District Judge Tanya Chutkan on Aug. 5, two days after Donald Trump was arraigned in a D.C. courthouse on charges of election interference that lead to the Jan. 6 attack on the Capitol, and left a message threatening to kill anyone who goes after the former president. 

"Hey, you stupid slave n——-," the 48-year-old begins with a racial slur towards the judge, who is Black. "If Trump doesn't get elected in 2024, we are coming to kill you, so tread lightly, bitch."

Shry's threat came in one day after Trump posted this threat on his Truth Social account: "IF YOU GO AFTER ME, I'M COMING AFTER YOU!"

The judge then issued a protective order against Trump and direct warning to the former president. "I caution you and your client to take special care in your public statements in this case," she told Trump's attorneys. "I will take whatever measures are necessary to protect the integrity of these proceedings."

Trump, in turn, continued to criticize Judge Chutkan on social media. 

"There is no way I can get a fair trial with the judge 'assigned' to the ridiculous freedom of speech/fair elections case. Everybody knows this, and so does she! We will be immediately asking for a recusal of this judge on very powerful grounds, and likewise for venue change, out if [sic] D.C."

On Wednesday, a Texas court denied Shry bail for her threats during a detention hearing. She was sentenced to at least 30 days in federal custody. Her father, Mark Shry, told the court that his daughter "sits on her couch daily watching the news while drinking too many beers" and often became "agitated by the news." So, he said, she started "calling people and threatening them."

Department of Homeland Security agents said that Shry even made threats in front of them. When questioned about her threats against Democratic Rep. Shelia Jackson Lee, another Black woman, Shry allegedly said "if Sheila Jackson Lee comes to Alvin, then we need to worry."


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