Man Guilty of Threatening S.C. Judges in E-Mail

March 19, 2010 - COLUMBIA, SC—Acting United States Attorney Kevin F. McDonald stated that Stephen H. Rosenberg, age 61, of Alexandria, Virginia, was found guilty late yesterday by a federal jury in Columbia on charges of sending a threatening email to the U.S. District Court in South Carolina and corruptly attempting to influence a federal judge presiding over a civil case in which Rosenberg was the plaintiff, in violation of Title 18, United States Code, Sections 875 and 1503, respectively. United States District Judge Cameron McGowan Currie presided over the trial, and has scheduled sentencing for June 16, 2010.

Evidence during the three-day trial showed that in 2002, Rosenberg filed a civil lawsuit in federal court in South Carolina, alleging he had been unlawfully arrested and incarcerated. In 2003, a federal judge dismissed the lawsuit. In 2007, Rosenberg demanded that the judge reinstate the lawsuit, and a hearing on the demand was held in May 2007. When Rosenberg did not receive an immediate ruling on his request following the hearing, he began sending frequent emails and letters to the court. In late 2008, these messages began to incorporate statements such as “the only good white judge is a dead white judge,” and that the only way he could “get justice” was “to start killing off white judges.”

Rosenberg’s e-mail demands that the court rule in his favor increased in 2008. In 2009, Rosenberg insisted that the judge rule before his father was to be buried, on April 6, 2009. That same day, Rosenberg sent the same judge the email that led to his criminal prosecution. He again stated that the “only good white judge was a dead white judge,” and emphasized, “No telling how I will react after my father is buried.” With its verdict, the jury concluded that this statement, when taken in context of the series of Rosenberg’s earlier emails, constituted a threat to kill white judges in South Carolina. The jury likewise concluded that the threatening comments were made by Rosenberg to corruptly influence the judge to rule in his favor.

Mr. McDonald stated the maximum penalty Rosenberg can receive is 15 years in federal prison and a fine of $500,000.

The case was investigated by agents of the Federal Bureau of Investigation with assistance from the United States Marshals Service and the Behavioral Science Unit of the South Carolina Law Enforcement Division. Assistant United States Attorney Dean A. Eichelberger of the Columbia office handled the case.