Florida man admits to threatening to kill Supreme Court's chief justice

Washington DC - A Florida man has pleaded guilty in connection with threats he made to murder the Supreme Court chief justice, John Roberts.

A Florida man pleaded guilty to threatening to murder Supreme Court Chief Justice John Roberts in July.
A Florida man pleaded guilty to threatening to murder Supreme Court Chief Justice John Roberts in July.  © REUTERS

Neal Brij Sidhwaney, a 43-year-old from Fernandina, placed a call on July 31, during which he "left an expletive-laden, threatening voicemail message" for a member of the high court, according to a Justice Department news release.

While officials did not identify which specific justice was the target of the phone call, court documents obtained by CNN revealed the threat was made against Chief Justice John Roberts.

Sidwaney also warned Roberts against alerting deputy US Marshals about the call, telling him he would talk to the law enforcement agents and then "come kill you anyway," per NBC News.

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Prosecutors noted that Sidhwaney repeatedly identified himself by name in the profanity-laced phone call, ultimately leading to his arrest back in August.

Weeks later, US Magistrate Judge Monte Richardson ordered a competency hearing for Sidhwaney. Though the suspect initially denied having any sort of mental health issues, "delusional thought processes became evident" during the examination.

Still, he was found to meet the minimum standards required to stand trial before he pleaded guilty on Friday to transmitting an interstate threat to kill. He faces up to five years in prison and his sentencing hearing will be set at a later date.

It's unclear what triggered the threats.

In 2022, a California man was arrested for allegedly telling police he traveled to the Washington DC area to kill Justice Brett Kavanaugh and then himself. He has pleaded not guilty to one count of attempting to assassinate a Supreme Court justice.

Cover photo: REUTERS

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