‘Mark My Words, I Will Kill you’: New York Man Who Sent Death Threats to New York AG Letitia James and a State Supreme Court Judge In Trump’s Fraud Case Avoids Jail Time
A man who threatened to kill New York Attorney General Letitia James and a state supreme court judge who presided over a high-profile civil case against President Donald Trump just got off almost scot-free.
After pleading to a lesser charge of second-degree aggravated harassment, Tyler J. Vogel of Lancaster, a Buffalo suburb, was sentenced to one year of conditional discharge, according to Law & Crime.
Vogel pleaded guilty in April of 2024 to one felony count of making a terroristic threat and a misdemeanor count of making a threat of mass harm against James and Judge Arthur Engoron.
The 27-year-old sent text messages in March of 2024 to James and Engoron threatening “death and physical harm if they did not cease action” against President Donald Trump, the Associated Press reported.
He was referring to a plan to seize Trump Tower and other property after Engoron ruled against Trump and his sons, Don Jr. and Eric Trump, and Trump CEO Allen Weisselberg, deciding they owed more than $350 million for lying about Trump companies’ finances.
Vogel used a paid online background website to gather private details about James and Engoron, state police said, confirming “intentions to follow through with the threats were his demands not met.”
Vogel told James, according to Law & Crime, that he was giving her “fair warning” that she was “not to permanently steal Donald Trumps assets or his property.”
“Furthermore, you are not to imprison Donald Trump,” he wrote.
After he was first arrested, the Erie County DA at the time, John Flynn, said Vogel was facing up to seven years in prison if convicted on the charges.
Vogel also told James and the judge that he would defend himself with “deadly force” and would also use the same against them.
In a text message to James, he said he had a “whole wall of deadly weapons” he could use.
“Mark my words I will kill you if you even dare to permanently steal Donald Trumps assets or his property,” Vogel also said.
Erie County District Attorney Michael Keane allowed Vogel to enter interim probation and ordered him to comply with state mental health court mandates last year. Once he completed the requirements, he was allowed to withdraw his plea on the felony charge and plead to the lesser misdemeanor count, according to the AP.
Officials said Vogel successfully completed the program.
“In addition to leading a law-abiding life, the defendant was also ordered to continue with counseling as a condition of his sentence,” prosecutors said in a statement this week.
“As part of the sentencing proceeding, final orders of protection were issued on behalf of the victims, which remain in effect for the next five years.”
Trump was convicted last year of 34 counts of falsifying business records as part of a hush money plan to kill stories about his sex life during his first presidential run in 2016. It’s the first time in history that a sitting or former president has been convicted on criminal charges.
James filed a civil lawsuit against Trump, his adult sons, and the Trump Organization, accusing them of committing business fraud for over a decade. The lawsuit claims they repeatedly inflated the value of assets to get better loan and insurance deals, then deflated those same assets to avoid paying higher taxes.
In early 2024, a New York judge ruled that Trump, his sons, and former executives were liable for fraud and ordered them to pay more than $450 million in penalties. The ruling also banned Trump and his sons from serving as officers or directors of any New York company or obtaining loans from New York financial institutions for three years.
Trump has appealed the judgment, but the penalties and restrictions remain in place while the appeal is pending. LetiJames has said she will not reduce or drop the judgment. Trump, in turn, claims the case is politically motivated, while James insists it is based on clear evidence and legal violations. The case has added fuel to the ongoing tensions between the two and marks one of the most serious civil fraud cases ever brought against a former U.S. president.