Local woman imprisoned for threatening to harm federal judge

HOUSTON – A 50-year-old Houston resident has been sentenced for using interstate communications to threat, kidnap or injure, announced U.S. Attorney Alamdar S. Hamdani.

Tiffani Shea Gish aka Evelyn Salt pleaded guilty Nov. 9, 2023.

U.S. District Judge David Hittner has now ordered Gish to serve 37 months in federal prison to be immediately followed by three years of supervised release. At the hearing, the court heard additional evidence about mental health problems and that Gish had previously left threatening messages for various government agencies. In handing down the sentence, Judge Hittner noted that he was concerned for the safety of the public and protecting the judiciary.

“Upholding the rule of law is one of the main priorities of the Department of Justice, and that means protecting public servants from violence,” said Hamdani. “Holding Tiffani Gish accountable for her threats to assassinate a federal judge sends a strong message that we have no tolerance for those – who often hide behind a far-off keyboard or phone line – seeking to undermine our democratic institutions by threatening the safety of the people who help those same institutions thrive.” 

On Sept. 1, 2022, Gish left three threatening voicemails on the chamber’s telephone of a U.S. district judge from Florida. In the messages, Gish claimed to be a member of several military combat units, trained and familiar with weapons of war.

In the first message, she said the victim was marked for assassination and would get a bullet in the head. Gish then reiterated the same threat in two subsequent messages and used expletives when adding that she had ordered snipers and a bomb to the victim’s house and would to throw a bullet to the victim’s head.

Gish will remain in custody pending transfer to a U.S. Bureau of Prisons facility to be determined in the near future.

FBI and U.S. Marshals Service conducted the investigation. Assistant U.S. Attorney Steven Schammel prosecuted the case.