A Florida man has been sentenced to a little more than a year in prison for threatening to kill Supreme Court Chief Justice John G. Roberts Jr.

Neal Brij Sidhwaney of Fernandina Beach, Florida, was sentenced Monday to 14 months in prison after pleading guilty in December to leaving in July an “expletive-laden, threatening voicemail message” in which he identified himself and threatened to kill Chief Justice Roberts, according to reports.

A Department of Justice press release did not identify the justice Sidhwaney, 43, had threatened, but Reuters reported it was the chief justice. A psychological evaluation had revealed Chief Justice Robert’s name before later being sealed, Reuters reported.

Threats against federal judges have been on the rise.

In 2022, Nicholas Roske of California was arrested for an alleged assassination attempt against Justice Brett M. Kavanaugh. He is in custody and has pleaded not guilty.

Mr. Roske claimed to have traveled to Justice Kavanaugh’s home to kill him over a pending ruling in an abortion dispute in which a draft opinion had leaked showing the court was poised to overturn Roe v. Wade, the 1973 landmark case that gave women a national right to abortion. 

The high court did in fact overturn Roe, sending returning jurisdiction on abortion to the states.

• Alex Swoyer can be reached at aswoyer@washingtontimes.com.