A California woman who threatened to kill a U.S. District judge presiding over an abortion pill case has pled guilty.
KEY TAKEAWAYS:
- Dolly Kay Patterson of California sent threatening messages to the office of a Texas judge presiding over a case on abortion pill regulations, threatening both him and his children.
- Patterson took a plea deal, pleading guilty to one of the charges against her for Interstate Threatening Communications.
- A Florida woman also sent death threats to the judge during the same time frame and was sentenced to 10 months in prison last year.
THE DETAILS:
Court documents state that in April of 2023, Dolly Kay Patterson, sent a message to Judge Matthew Kacsmaryk’s office in Texas, stating, “Tell this antiabortion judge he needs to watch his back — and that of his kids — the rest of his life!”
Patterson pled guilty to a violation of “18 U.S.C. § 875(c), that is, Interstate Threatening Communications,” according to court records, which also state that Patterson “admits” to sending a message “containing a true threat to injure a United States District Judge.” The charge carries a maximum sentence of five years in prison.
Based on the message, it is clear that Patterson also threatened Kacsmaryk’s children.
The message was sent shortly after Kacsmaryk ruled that the FDA’s approval of mifepristone should be overturned — though at the time, the Biden administration acted swiftly to halt the decision. An appeals court upheld the decision at first, but the Supreme Court later overturned it, ruling that mifepristone could remain available.
While the case was underway, Kacsmaryk had to close hearings due to the number of death threats he was receiving.
Patterson at first denied sending the message to Kacsmaryk, said she never confessed to it, and claimed there was no evidence tying her to the crime. Eventually, however, she changed her tune, and took a plea deal for one count against her.
THE REST OF THE STORY:
Patterson was not alone in her threats.
In November of 2023, 68-year-old Alice Marie Pence also threatened to kill U.S. District Judge Matthew Kacsmaryk over the same court case. Spence pled guilty on June 28, 2024, and was sentenced to 10 months in federal prison.
A DOJ press release from last year noted that “Pence made an interstate telephone call from the Middle District of Florida to the chambers of a United States district judge in the Northern District of Texas. In the voicemail, Pence demanded the judge ‘make the right decision’ about a pending case over which the judge was presiding.” Pence reportedly also sent messages to Kacsmaryk telling him to “watch out for the red dot on your forehead.”
GO DEEPER:
A recent analysis of insurance data regarding “serious adverse events” resulting from mifepristone (the abortion pill) noted a 22 times higher rate than the rate currently stated by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA). Known complications included hemorrhaging, infection, sepsis, transfusions, hospitalization, and more. Read more at Live Action News.
