Man charged with threatening judge in Florida district that heard Trump case

Eric James Rennert, 65, is facing five federal charges in the indictment which accuses him of communicating interstate threats and threatening to assault, kidnap and murder a federal judge.

Court documents do not name the judge who received the threats but indicate they occurred in St Lucie county, Florida. US district judge Aileen Cannon, who presided over the criminal case accusing Trump of illegally retaining classified documents, is based in that county along with another federal magistrate judge.

Rennert has been arrested and will be transported to Florida for his next court appearance, according to court records. He has not yet entered a plea.

Cannon was appointed to the bench by Trump during his presidency, and her approach to the classified documents case drew intense scrutiny. She dismissed all charges in July based on a finding that lead prosecutor and special counsel Jack Smith was unlawfully appointed to the role.

Cannon was also recently assigned to preside over the case of a man accused of attempting to assassinate Trump last month at his Florida golf course. A woman in Texas was sentenced to more than three years in prison in February after admitting to threatening Cannon, court records show.

Federal judges have faced a rise in threats as part of an overall surge in violent rhetoric directed toward public officials in the United States.