On Wednesday, a retired educator received a five-year jail sentence for threatening to hurt a federal court in Florida with profanity-filled voicemails after the judge dismissed a challenge to the state’s “don’t say gay” statute, which prohibits discussion of sexual orientation and gender identity in the classroom.
Stephen Thorn, 66, received the maximum punishment from U.S. District Judge William Jung in Tampa after entering a guilty plea to a single threat charge in May. The punishment was double what the prosecution had requested.
When asked for a reply, Thorn’s attorney remained silent. Thorn expressed regret and said he had overreacted “rashly and angrily” after reading a news article about the judge’s decision in a letter that was submitted to the court.
In court documents, prosecutors claimed that the case was an illustration of the growing nationwide pattern of threats made against federal judges, which they linked to the country’s growing ideological divide over judicial decisions.
According to the U.S. Marshals Service, there were 457 serious threats against federal judges in fiscal year 2023, which concluded on September 30, compared to 224 in fiscal year 2021. This year, a Reuters investigation documented the phenomenon.
In Thorn’s case, the prosecutor did not mention the judge by name. However, court documents detail his voicemails regarding a 2022 decision made by Republican former President Donald Trump’s appointee, U.S. District Judge Wendy Berger in Orlando.
In that decision, Berger rejected a case filed earlier that year by civil rights organizations, LGBTQ students, and their families, attempting to halt the Florida law’s implementation following Republican Governor Ron DeSantis’ signing into law.
The Parental Rights in Education Act, a law passed in Florida, prohibits teachers in public schools from discussing gender identity or sexual orientation with students in kindergarten through third grade, or around ages five to nine.
Additionally, it forbids instructing pupils in other grades in any way that “is not age appropriate or developmentally appropriate.”
Thorn, a gay man, claimed in his voicemails that the court was “essentially accepting that they should be treated as second-class citizens and harassed” and that the judge had no idea what LGBTQ youngsters went through.
The judge was “very easy to track,” according to Thorn, who said he had looked up the addresses of the judge, her husband, and their two kids.
Thorn remarked, “Let’s find out how you would feel if someone put your kids or grandkids in danger at school.” “You bring shame to the legal system.”
A request for a response from Berger was not answered.
A parallel lawsuit involving Florida’s statute, which permits instructors to talk about gender identity and sexual orientation while protecting the youngest pupils from such subjects, was settled in March.