Convicted Aggravated Felon Sentenced to Prison for Mailing Threatening Letter to a U.S. District Judge, Former U.S. Attorney and Assistant U.S. Attorney in North Carolina

A former Fayetteville, North Carolina man was sentenced to 41 months in prison to be served after the expiration of his state sentence, with the expected release date of 2040, for mailing a threatening communication and retaliating against a federal official in the Western District of North Carolina. 

Acting Assistant Attorney General John P. Cronan of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division, Special Agent in Charge John A. Strong of the FBI Charlotte, North Carolina Field Office and U.S. Marshal Greg Forest of the Western District of North Carolina, made the announcement.

George Victor Stokes, 42, was sentenced by Honorable Max O. Cogburn Jr., who sentenced him to three years of supervised release following his prison sentence.  According to information included in the indictment and to which Stokes’ agreed to at his guilty plea, Stokes mailed a letter threatening to kill a U.S. District Court Judge, the former U.S. Attorney for the Western District of North Carolina, and an Assistant U.S. Attorney for the Western District of North Carolina.  Specifically, Stokes threatened to “blow” the head off of a U.S. District Court Judge and stated it was “his duty to do this.”  Stokes admitted he sent the death threat in retaliation for the victims’ roles in the sentencing and prosecution of Stokes in a prior federal case for similar conduct, mailing a threatening communication.

Stokes is currently incarcerated in state prison for an unrelated crime. After finishing his state prison term, he will be transferred to federal prison to complete his federal sentence.

FBI Charlotte and the U.S. Marshals Service for the Western District of North Carolina investigated the case.  Trial Attorneys Matthew K. Hoff and Rachel E. Timm of the Organized Crime and Gang Section prosecuted the case.