Protest against “Don’t Say Gay” in Fort Myers, Fla., on March 6, 2022.
Syndication The News Press Photo: Andrew West/The News-Press via USA TODAY Network / USA TODAY NETWORK
A retired gay teacher who threatened a Trump-appointed judge over a Don’t Say Gay ruling she issued was sentenced to five years in prison on Wednesday, double the time prosecutors were asking for.
The sentence was issued by U.S. District Judge William Jung for the Middle District of Florida in Tampa.
Related:
Stephen Thorn, 66, was sentenced after he pleaded guilty in May to a single threat charge for obscenity-filled voicemails he left for U.S. District Judge Wendy Berger in Orlando.
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In the voicemails, Thorn claimed the judge had no idea what LGBTQ+ children go through and was “basically giving a green light for them to be thought of as second-class citizens and bullied.”
Thorn said the judge and her family were “very easy to track.”
“Let’s see how you would like it if somebody endangered your children in school or your grandchildren in school,” he said in the messages. “You are an embarrassment to the judicial system.”
Thorn submitted a letter of apology to the court ahead of his sentencing.
“I want to sincerely apologize for any emotional distress this caused this judge and/or her immediate family members or staff to experience,” Thorn wrote. “My intention was not to threaten her and/or her immediate family members.”
“I spent a large portion of my teaching career advocating for LGBTQ+ public school students and volunteering for LGBTQ+ youth advocacy organizations in both Florida and in California,” Thorn continued. “I am also the parent of two adult sons, one of whom is gay. Consequently, this factored into my overreaction, as well.”
District Judge Jung seemed unmoved by Thorn’s words, sentencing the teacher to the maximum penalty.
Over his judicial career, Jung has been appointed to different posts by Presidents George W. Bush, Barack Obama, and Donald Trump. He was confirmed for his latest appointment in 2018.
Prosecutors argued that Thorn’s actions were an example of a rising tide of threats to the judicial system.
Serious threats against federal judges doubled over the last three years from 224 to 457, according to the U.S. Marshals Service and reported by Reuters.
In March, Florida reached a settlement in litigation related to the case Judge Berger threw out, granting teachers the freedom to discuss sexual orientation and gender identity in higher grades while maintaining the prohibition in grades K-3.
