A Marine Corps veteran from Glendale pleaded guilty in Brooklyn federal court last week to an indictment charging him with threatening to assault and murder a U.S. District Judge.
Kenneth J. Ward, Jr., 59, of Myrtle Avenue, admitted he threatened a federal judge in July during a telephone status conference regarding a civil lawsuit he filed in 2015 over his involuntary committal at Nassau University Medical Center for previous threats against judges.
His civil case was assigned to the District Judge, who ultimately dismissed most of Ward’s claims. On July 15, 2024, Ward participated in a telephonic conference in connection with his case. During that conference, which was recorded and presided over by a different judge, Ward became furious and threatened to choke the original District Judge “to death,” according to the transcript.
At several points during the conference, Ward alleged that the District Judge was “corrupt” because “none of those claims should have been dismissed. He called it “bullsh*t” that the District Judge had dismissed Ward’s claims against doctors who committed him to involuntary psychiatric treatment for more than a week after he threatened to kill judges during a visit to the Department of Veterans Affairs in Hicksville.
“So those doctors and that f*cking judge, Carol whatever the f*ck her name is, can go f*ck herself,” Ward shouted, according to the transcript. “And if I ever see her again, I’m going to choke her to death. And that’s on the f*cking record.”
Later that day, the threat against the District Judge was referred to the U.S. Marshals Service for investigation.
John J. Durham, U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of New York, announced the guilty plea on Feb. 10.
“The judges and other court officials who work every day to keep our country safe and uphold the law should not have to fear for their lives for doing their jobs,” Durham said.
He also praised the U.S. Marshals Service (USMS) for the investigation that found Ward had threatened to “get into a van and run over” personnel at the Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit in 2014 after an adverse ruling against him.
They also learned of Ward’s arrest in 2023 following a violent road rage incident in which he allegedly shouted, “I’m going to kill you,” at a motorist before stabbing another driver in the arm, according to court documents.
The federal marshals also distributed a warning poster at the Brooklyn federal courthouse, which included a photo of Ward and instructions to notify the USMS if he was seen on the premises. The USMS also temporarily enhanced the District Judge’s security.
When sentenced, Ward faces up to 10 years in prison.
“Threatening judges strikes at the very heart of our system,” Durham said. “This office has no tolerance for violence or threats of violence against public servants. We will prosecute offenders like the defendant to the fullest extent of the law.”
