Inmate Pleads Guilty To Threatening Federal Judge

Orlando, Florida – U.S. Attorney Roger B. Handberg announces that Jeziah Guagno (23) has pleaded guilty to mailing threatening communications to a federal judge. Guagno faces a maximum penalty of 10 years in federal prison. A sentencing date has not been set.

According to court documents, in May 2021, a federal judge in the Middle District of Florida received a threatening letter from M.S.—an inmate at the Santa Rosa Correctional Institution. The letter included violent threats to murder the judge and his wife. When interviewed, M.S. denied making the threats. Guagno, however, was also serving time in the same Florida prison as M.S. A subsequent DNA and fingerprint analysis by the FBI determined that Guagno’s DNA was on the envelope and his palmprint was on the letter. Known handwriting samples from Guagno also matched the handwritten threats in the letter. Further investigation revealed that the federal judge who had been threatened in the letter previously had dismissed a civil case filed by Guagno.  

This case was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the United States Marshals Service, and the Florida Department of Corrections. It is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Tyrie K. Boyer.