Florida man who threatened judge over 'don't say gay' suit gets five-year sentence

A Florida man who threatened a judge after she dismissed a suit challenging the state’s “don’t say gay” law has been sentenced to five years in federal prison.

Stephen Jay Thorn, 66, of Pensacola, received the sentence Wednesday, according to a news release from the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Middle District of Florida. Thorn had pleaded guilty in May to a charge of interstate transmission of a threat to the judge.

The U.S. Attorney’s Office did not name the judge, but prosecutors had previously identified her as Wendy Berger, a U.S. district judge in Orlando who was appointed by Donald Trump.

In October 2022, Berger dismissed a suit against the law and refused to issue a preliminary injunction blocking its enforcement. The law banned classroom instruction on sexual orientation and gender identity. However, this year a legal settlement made clear that certain discussions of the topics are permitted.

In her dismissal, Berger said those who brought the suit — LGBTQ+ students and families, plus an association of LGBTQ+ community centers — did not have legal standing to challenge the law. She also said that bullying in school, which the plaintiffs expressed concerns about, “is simply a fact of life.”

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Thorn, a retired teacher, was enraged. He left several voice mail messages for her. One called her a “rotten piece of ****” and accused her of courting supporters of Trump and Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, who signed the law, TV station WFLA reports.

“You have no ******* idea what LGBTQ kids go through,” he said in a message transcribed in court documents. “I’m a retired teacher. I’ve taught in Florida. I’ve taught in California. I have seen the sheer hell those kids are put through and you have the gall to say that’s part of middle school or high school is to be picked on.”

In another one, he threatened her family members and said it would be easy to find her. He called her a “stupid redneck” and a “cruel person.” “You think that it’s OK for LGBTQ kids to be bullied, which is what that law is allowing, that’s what it’s saying that they’re second-class citizens. Listen dumb***, you’re easy to track you down,” he continued.

“Threatening harm against public officials, or their families, is an intolerable offense,” U.S. Attorney Roger B. Handberg said in the news release. “My office takes such threats seriously and is committed to investigating and federally prosecuting anyone who threatens this sort of violence.”