Man Who Threatened to Kill Chief Justice Sentenced to 14 Months

A Florida man was sentenced to 14 months in federal prison for threatening to kill Chief Justice John Roberts, the Justice Department said.

Neal Brij Sidhwaney, 43, of the Jacksonville area, had pleaded guilty in December in the US District Court for the Middle District of Florida to one count of transmitting an interstate threat to injure, court documents showed. Judge Marcia Morales Howard held the sentencing hearing on Monday.

Prosecutors said Sidhwaney left a profanity-laced voicemail with the Supreme Court last July that included a repeated threat to kill a specific justice. The Justice Department did not identify the justice, but a competency report filed in September — which was subsequently sealed — identified Roberts as the target of the threat.

Sidhwaney introduced himself, said that this “message is for” the justice, and then said, “I will fucking kill you,” along with other profanities, court records show.

Sidhwaney suffers from “delusional disorder with psychosis,” according to the competency report.

The case comes amid a rise in threats against federal judges.

The number of substantiated threats against federal judges climbed in recent years from 178 in 2019 to 311 in 2022, according to data obtained by Bloomberg Law from the US Marshals Service, the agency tasked with protecting judges.

In 2022, Nicholas John Roske was charged with attempted murder after authorities allege the California man showed up at Justice Brett Kavanaugh’s home armed with a gun. Charges against Roske are still pending before a Maryland federal court.