CLEVELAND, Ohio — A man faces even more time in prison after he was accused of threatening a federal judge and prosecutors.
On Jan. 27, Richard Blackman, 38, of Maple Heights was in federal court for a jury trial after prosecutors accused him of being a felon in possession of a firearm.
Blackman, who was later found guilty of that charge, began speaking over United States District Court Judge Patricia Gaughan, implying he didn’t have a bond hearing or initial appearance. Blackman had been arraigned a year prior and waived his detention hearing, court records show.
That is when Blackman began threatening Gaughan, two assistant U.S. prosecutors and a Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms, and Explosives special agent who was in the courtroom, according to an affidavit signed by a deputy U.S. Marshal who investigated the incident.
“I will kill your kids, b—-,” Blackman is accused of saying to a federal prosecutor.
As Blackman repeated his threats, Gaughan ordered him removed from the court.
“I’ll kill you too,” Blackman is accused of saying to Gaughan.
Once Blackman was removed from the court and taken to a holding cell, his attorneys tried talking to him, but he spit at them, according to the affidavit.
Three days after the incident, the jury in the original case found Blackman was guilty of possessing a handgun while being a convicted felon. His criminal history includes cases spanning 20 years with either guilty pleas or convictions for domestic violence, attempted aggravated burglary, cocaine and fentanyl trafficking, felonious assault and kidnapping, according to Cuyahoga County Court of Common Pleas records.
Accused of threatening a judge and federal law enforcement, Blackman now faces four counts of threatening a federal official or their family member, court records show.
Blackman’s attorney did not immediately reply to a request for comment.
