New York man pleads guilty to sending threats to state attorney general and Trump civil case judge
NEW YORK — A New York man has pleaded guilty to sending death threats to the attorney general and the Manhattan judge who presided over former President Donald Trump’s civil fraud case, prosecutors said Thursday.
Tyler Vogel, 26, of Lancaster, admitted Wednesday in state Supreme Court to one felony count of making a terroristic threat and one misdemeanor count of threatening mass harm, according to Acting Erie County District Attorney Michael’s office Keane.
Vogel had sent text messages late last month threatening New York Attorney General Letitia James and Judge Arthur Engoron with “death and bodily harm” if they did not comply with his demands to “cease and desist” in the Trump case, according to a complaint filed in a court in Lancaster, a suburb east of Buffalo.
State police said in the complaint that Vogel used a paid online background website to obtain private information about James and Engoron and that this “confirmed an intent to follow through with the threats if his demands were not met.”
Keane’s office said Thursday that by entering the guilty plea, Vogel will be allowed to participate in interim probation and comply with the mandates of the state mental health court.
Once court and probation requirements are completed, Vogel may withdraw his plea to the charge and be sentenced on the misdemeanor charge, Keane’s office said.
He was released and is due back in court on April 23, but a temporary protective order issued on behalf of the two victims remains in effect, prosecutors said.
Vogel was initially charged with two felony counts of making a terroristic threat and two misdemeanor counts of aggravated intimidation. If convicted, he faced a maximum of seven years in prison, prosecutors said at the time.
His attorney did not respond to an email seeking comment Thursday and a spokesperson for James’ office declined to comment.
Trump, meanwhile, is on trial again this week in Manhattan.
The former Republican president, who is seeking a return to the White House in this year’s elections, faces 34 felony charges for falsifying company records as part of a scheme to bury stories about his sex life that he feared could harm his campaign. 2016 could hurt.
Trump has also appealed Engoron’s Feb. 16 finding that he lied about his wealth while nurturing the real estate empire that propelled him to stardom and the presidency.
The civil lawsuit focused on how Trump’s assets were valued on financial statements that went to bankers and insurers to get loans and deals.