Jan. 6 defendant detained for allegedly threatening Garland, Trump prosecutor
A Jan. 6 defendant was taken into custody this week after allegedly making social media posts threatening people involved in former President Trump’s legal battles and FBI agents who investigated the defendant’s case.
Prosecutors say Bradley Nelson, who was originally charged in March 2023, also allegedly threatened Supreme Court Justice Amy Coney Barrett and Attorney General Merrick Garland.
Charles Austin, a federal magistrate judge in Maryland, on Monday ordered Nelson be detained, court documents show. He is due to appear in court next week to determine whether the detention will continue until his December trial.
“While there is no history of prior release violations, these statements evidence an actionable threat to the community – at the least, law enforcement involved in the investigation,” Austin wrote in his order.
Prosecutors said Nelson over the past year has posted images of Garland, New York Attorney General Letitia James (D) and a Georgia state judge with apparent crosshairs drawn on their heads.
The Georgia judge appears to be Scott McAfee, who has been overseeing Trump’s Georgia election interference criminal case.
Court documents indicate the post about James, who brought a major civil fraud prosecution against Trump that led to a $464 million judgment, also included a threatening comment: “give every [expletive] thing I have to watch that [expletive]’s head explode, or at least the back of her head blowout.”
And in June, prosecutors say Nelson made a threatening post about Barrett, Trump’s final appointee to the Supreme Court.
The post was allegedly made roughly one hour after the Supreme Court narrowed the use of an obstruction charge levied against hundreds of Jan. 6 defendants, including Nelson. Barrett wrote the dissent, siding with prosecutors alongside two of the court’s liberals.
“I pray to God with all my [expletive] heart that somebody cuts your [expletive] throat from ear to ear you worthless piece of [expletive],” Nelson’s comment read, according to court documents.
The magistrate judge, however, raised greater concerns about the defendant’s alleged posts about two FBI agents involved in his case. Nelson allegedly posted two videos directing angry and threatening comments toward the agents, including offering to get into “the MMA ring” with them.
“The Court does not, in any way, disregard or minimize statements concerning state and federal judges and attorneys general,” the judge wrote. “Those comments and rhetoric are even more offensive and violent than the agent-focused statements. Moreover, they support concerns that Nelson might resort to violence in the future.”
The judge added, “Yet, the Court is mindful of its directive to consider not only the nature of any alleged threats but also Mr. Nelson’s resources and capabilities.”
In connection with the Jan. 6 riot, Nelson faces charges like obstruction, entering a restricted building and disorderly conduct. Prosecutors say Nelson in the lead up to Jan. 6 expressed a desire to commit violence against then-Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) and others. He pleaded not guilty.
A court docket shows Nelson is due to appear in court next Wednesday in Washington, D.C., before the judge who has been overseeing his Jan. 6 case to determine whether to keep him behind bars until his trial, which is scheduled to begin Dec. 10.