A New York man has been sentenced to 18 months in prison after threatening to kill a federal judge over his handling of the criminal case against former Trump national security adviser Michael Flynn.

Frank Caporusso, 52, was arrested in August 2020 and admitted to leaving a death threat on the office voicemail of Judge Emmet Sullivan’s chambers in May 2020 following the Justice Department’s decision to drop the false-statement case Special Counsel Robert Mueller’s office filed against Flynn in 2017.

Judge Emmet Sullivan (Credit: Wiki Commons)

Caporusso pleaded guilty to one count of Influencing, Impeding, or retaliating against a federal official by threat and was sentenced in court on Monday, July 19. During the trial, the voicemail was played, showing that not only did Caporusso threaten the judge but his staff as well.

“We are trained military people,” Caporusso told Sullivan according to a transcript. “We will be on rooftops. You will not be safe. A hot piece of lead will cut through your skull… Back out of this bulls**t before it’s too late, or we’ll start cutting down your staff. This is not a threat. This is a promise.”

Sullivan told the court that the voicemail “shocked” and “terrified” him and Caporusso admitted to feeling “shocked and embarrassed” after the first time he heard the recording.

A transcript of Caporusso’s voicemail to Judge Emmet Sullivan Photo Credit: @KlasfeldReports/Twitter

The incident’s effects on Sullivan were detailed in a witness statement from him, which was read in court. In the message, the judge admitted to feeling “fear now” and said that following the threat he’d taken “unprecedented measures” to protect himself and his family. “The defendant before you threatened to murder me because he disagreed with my judicial decisions,” Sullivan said. “I feel fear now even though the defendant is in custody.”

Caporusso’s lawyer said that his client was not of clear mind when he made the call due to a drinking and opioid addiction, adding “He was also under an enormous amount of stress from his job.”

“I was not thinking well or doing well at that time,” Caporusso said to the court. “I shudder to think that those words could actually come from me. … I humbly apologize to Judge Sullivan, his staff, and their families.”

The 18-month sentence was handed down by U.S. District Judge Trevor McFadden, a Donald Trump appointee, who said that McFadden’s assurance that Caporusso’s felt sincere remorse and the lack of evidence that Caporusso intended to carry out the threat, among other mitigating factors, played a part in his decision to lessen the sentence.

In addition to jail time, Caporusso was also sentenced to two years of supervised release, during which he is not allowed to use alcohol.