Texas woman sentenced to three years in prison for threatening judge in Trump's classified documents trial

WASHINGTON — A 50-year-old Texas woman was sentenced to three years in prison Friday for threatening District Judge Aileen Cannon, the official presiding over the case accusing former President Donald Trump of mishandling classified documents.

Tiffani Shea Gish of Houston pleaded guilty in November to threatening Cannon, who was nominated by the former president in 2020 to her role in southern Florida. Gish left three threatening voicemails for Cannon on Sept. 1, 2022, claiming to be a member of military combat units, according to the Justice Department.

The woman said she had ordered snipers and a bomb to be sent to Cannon’s house and would aim a bullet at Cannon’s head. According to court documents filed in 2022, Gish identified herself as “Evelyn Salt” in two of the voicemails.

“Holding Tiffani Gish accountable for her threats to assassinate a federal judge sends a strong message that we have no tolerance for those – who often hide behind a far-off keyboard or phone line – seeking to undermine our democratic institutions by threatening the safety of the people who help those same institutions thrive,” U.S. Attorney Alamdar Hamdani said in a statement Friday.

Gish will also face three years of supervised release after she completes her prison sentence.

The charges against Gist come months after a Texas woman was arrested and charged for allegedly threatening to kill District Judge Tanya Chutkan.

Chutkan is overseeing the federal case against Trump accusing him of trying to steal the 2020 presidential election from Joe Biden. Trump in Florida is facing charges that he allegedly hoarded classified documents at his Mar-a-Lago estate and thwarted government efforts to get them back.

Contributing: Associated Press

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Texas woman sentenced for threatening Trump classified documents judge