A man accused of threatening to kill federal judge will proceed to trial after a California federal judge refused to dismiss the indictment. The case centers on allegations that the defendant sent emails outlining plans to kidnap and kill U.S. District Judge Charles Breyer.
According to court filings, U.S. District Judge Jon Tigar of the Northern District of California denied a motion by defendant David Pokorny to toss the charges based on what he claimed were faulty grand jury instructions. The ruling, issued Monday, clears the way for a trial set to begin in November.
Tigar concluded prosecutors are not obligated to deliver perfect instructions to grand jurors. He previously rejected Pokorny’s First Amendment challenge to the indictment.
In that earlier decision, Tigar found the alleged communications, nearly a dozen emails sent last year that described plans to kidnap and kill Judge Breyer, constituted “true threats” rather than hyperbole or a purely political statement.
Breyer, a senior judge on the Northern District of California bench, was appointed in 1997 by President Bill Clinton. He is the brother of retired U.S. Supreme Court Justice Stephen Breyer.
Pokorny also faces a separate state case over allegedly threatening emails to Oakland Mayor Barbara Lee, according to court records.
Threatening to kill federal judge case set for November
The federal trial is scheduled to start in November in the Northern District of California. Further pretrial proceedings are expected to address evidentiary and procedural issues before jury selection.
The federal proceedings are being handled in the same district that includes the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California. Judge Breyer has long served on that bench alongside other notable jurists.
The allegations involving threats to a sitting federal judge unfold as other high-profile court oversight matters continue nationwide, including cases where a judge keeps Maricopa County sheriff’s office under oversight. The Pokorny trial is expected to draw close attention from judicial security officials.
Any conviction in the federal case could carry significant prison time under statutes that criminalize threats against federal officials, including judges, which are enforced by the U.S. Department of Justice. Sentencing would ultimately rest with the trial judge after any jury verdict.