Woman who issued ‘watch your back’ threat to federal judge pleads guilty
A federal judge whose ruling temporarily suspended access to an abortion drug got a message soon afterward through his court system’s web page.
It said: “Watch your back.”
And now a woman has pleaded guilty and is facing up to five years in prison for sending it.
It is Lifesite News that explains the target of the threat was Judge Matthew Kacsmaryk and his family.
It was Kacsmaryk’s ruling that briefly put on hold access to the deadly drug mifepristone because of anomalies in the way the Food and Drug Administration approved it.
Pleading guilty to issuing the threat was Dolly Kay Patterson, a former employee of Stanford University.
The threat came April 2023 and actually warned the judge and his children to “watch [their] backs.”
“Tell this antiabortion judge he needs to watch his back—and that of his kids—the rest of his life!” Patterson threatened, according to court documents in the case.
It came through the website for the Northern District of Texas court just days after Kacsmaryk’s ruling.
Patterson pleaded guilty under a deal in which one charge was dropped.
Sentencing is scheduled for September 30.
The report explained, “She had previously denied responsibility, but prosecutors said she confessed during a home visit by U.S. Marshals.”
The judge actually, in court filings, documented getting a “barrage” of death threats, harassment, and abusive messages after his decision.
“A second woman, Alice Marie Pence of Florida, was sentenced in November to 10 months in prison after threatening Kacsmaryk with sniper violence if he failed to rule in favor of abortion,” the report said.
The Supreme Court later reopened access to the death-dealing drug, although the dispute remains far from resolved because that ruling said the plaintiffs lacked standing, an issue that can be addressed in legal disputes by bringing in new plaintiffs.
Patterson entered her plea in Dallas federal court.
Reuters reported, “The case against Patterson was filed amid a surge in threats to judges nationally, prompting the federal judiciary to push Congress for increased security funding to help it ensure the safety of judges and their families. A Reuters investigation this month identified at least 11 federal judges whose families have recently faced threats of violence or harassment after they ruled against the Trump administration. Pizzas have also been sent anonymously to the homes of several judges and their relatives.”