Florida man pleads guilty to threatening murder of Supreme Court Justice John Roberts

A Florida man has pleaded guilty in connection with threats he made to murder a Supreme Court Justice.

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 U.S. Marshals about the call, telling him he would talk to the law enforcement agents and then “come kill you anyway,” NBC News reported.

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, U.S. 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 of 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, officials said in a press release Monday.

It’s unclear what triggered the threats.

Earlier this year, President Biden signed bipartisan legislation expanding protections for family members of Supreme Court justices, prompted in part by backlash following the reversal of Roe v. Wade. It also came after a California man, identified as Nicholas Roske, was arrested for allegedly telling police he traveled to the Washington, D.C., 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.

_____