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Alice Marie Pence placed a call from Florida to the chambers of
a federal judge in Amarillo, Texas, federal court around March
12 and threatened to kill him, according to a grand jury
indictment. Though he was not named in the indictment, the only
federal judge in Amarillo is U.S. District Judge Matthew
Kacsmaryk.
Pence is charged with one count of threatening interstate
communication and one count of influencing a federal official by
threat. The indictment, filed in Kacsmaryk's court, says the
threat was in retaliation for the judge's performance of his
official duties.
A lawyer for Pence could not immediately be identified.
Kacsmaryk and a spokesperson for Texas federal prosecutors did
not immediately respond to requests for comment.
Kacsmaryk held a hearing on anti-abortion groups' bid to ban
mifepristone on March 15. He had told lawyers in the case before
the hearing that his chambers had received death threats.
Kacsmaryk suspended mifepristone's approval in April,
effectively banning the drug. However, his order is on hold
while the Biden administration appeals to the U.S. Supreme
Court, and mifepristone remains available.
Amarillo federal court has become a favored venue for socially
conservative groups because it ensures their cases will be heard
by Kacsmaryk, a staunch conservative and former Christian
activist.
Mifepristone has been approved by the U.S. Food and Drug
Administration for use along with another drug, misoprostol, to
end pregnancy within the first 10 weeks.
(Reporting by Brendan Pierson in New York and Nate Raymond in
Boston; Editing by Richard Chang)
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