An Illinois man is accused of assaulting and threatening to kill a federal judge believed to be overseeing former President Donald Trump’s classified documents case, according to an indictment unsealed Thursday.

The defendant, Eric Lennert, also threatened to kidnap the family of a judge in St. Lucie County, Florida. According to Until the indictment. U.S. District Judge Eileen Cannon was appointed to the bench by President Trump in May 2020 and is the only district judge to have been accused of intimidation. According to to Bloomberg Law.

Renato allegedly acted “with the intent to communicate a genuine threat of violence and with recklessness as to whether the communication would be considered a genuine threat of violence.” According to Until the indictment. The indictment states that Renato began making threats in May 2024 and then made further threats in July 2024. (Related: MSNBC legal analyst says it’s ‘very unlikely’ a judge will sentence Trump to prison so close to the election)

Cannon was appointed in June 2023 to oversee Trump’s classified documents criminal case. Trump asked Cannon to drop the case in February 2024. presidential records act (PRA), which is the law that governs the official records of the president and vice president. The judge rejected Trump’s request to remove him from office, saying counts 1 through 32 of his indictment did not refer to the law.

In March 2024, Cannon questioned why Trump was the only US president to be indicted for handling classified material. The judge has also repeatedly faced criticism from liberal commentators who say he supported Trump during the criminal proceedings.

A federal judge ultimately ruled to dismiss President Trump’s classified documents lawsuit in July 2024, based on claims that Special Counsel Jack Smith was illegally appointed. Following the decision, Mr. Smith announced that he intended to appeal Mr. Cannon’s sentence.

Trump’s indictment in the case has caused confusion among many Republican leaders, including Florida Governor Ron DeSantis, who said in June 2023 that the indictment was a “weaponization” of the law. said. Republican Rep. Matt Gaetz questioned Special Counsel Robert Hur in March 2024 about why he did not indict President Joe Biden and the ghostwriter of his book over their handling of classified documents.

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