It's official: Authorities in New York have charged a man with threatening the lives of two prominent figures: the state attorney general and the judge in Manhattan who oversaw the civil fraud case involving former president Donald Trump.
According to a complaint filed last week in a court in Lancaster, a suburb east of Buffalo, a 26-year-old named Tyler Vogel threatened New York Attorney General Letitia James and Judge Arthur Engoron with "death and physical harm" in late January if they did not comply with his demands to "cease action" in the Trump case.
According to the state police, Vogel "confirmed intentions to follow through with the threats were his demands not met" after he used a paid online background website to gather private information about James and Engoron, as stated in the complaint.
A total of four counts, including two felonies for terroristic threat making and two misdemeanors for aggravated harassment, have been filed against Vogel.
A news statement from the office of Erie County District Attorney John Flynn also announced the issuance of a temporary protective order. According to the office, Vogel may spend up to seven years behind bars if found guilty.
Whether Vogel is represented by an attorney is unknown. The only information that Joseph Spino, who spoke on behalf of Flynn's office, could provide on Wednesday night was that Vogel was being held until the findings of a forensic exam were known and that he was scheduled to return to court on April 9.
State police and the Lancaster Town Court, where Vogel was arraigned last week, did not respond to emails, and the case was not listed on the state's online court database either.
On Monday, Trump, who is re-entering the presidential race this year, posted a bond of $175 million in connection with the civil fraud action that James' office had filed. That stopped the state from taking his assets to pay down the over $454 million he owes, and he can now appeal the decision.
Trump is attempting to reverse the decision made by Engoron on February 16th, which found that he inflated his wealth records while building the real estate company that propelled him to fame and the president. Financial statements that were presented to insurers and banks in order to get loans and negotiations centred on the valuation of Trump's assets.
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