Main image: the Lamoreaux Justice Center (Orange County Sheriff's Office). Inset: Byrom Zuniga Sanchez (Federal Bureau of Investigation).
A California A man has been charged with threatening to kill the judge who handled his family law case, as per federal prosecutors.
Byrom Zuniga Sanchez, 32, has been accused of two counts of threats by sending messages across state lines and internationally via emails and posts targeting an Orange County judge in the summer of 2023.
One of the emails mentioned in a 24-page criminal complaint reads.
states, "I am more committed to murdering you than I am to being present as a father. judge The charging documents obtained by Law&Crime do not reveal the judge's identity, but federal prosecutors assert that Zuniga's threats were aimed at the same judge who presided over a family law matter involving the defendant from 2019 to 2021.
Another email from July 2023 stated, "It is time you die," as per the five-page indictment. "Nothing will change course and nothing will stop the guaranteed accountability requiring your life as payment."
The FBI also alleges that Zuniga threatened to kill various other individuals employed in the U.S. legal system and law enforcement.
The email from July 2023 allegedly continues, "You're already dead. The remainder of my life will be dedicated to assassinating judges, attorneys, and an entire shift staff at a police station.
The specific family law case that seems to have upset the defendant is not explicitly mentioned in the charging documents, but it appears to be related to child custody.
Another email from July 2023 continued, "You think I give a f— about living in the US? My hatred for your government isn't based on the discrimination I've experienced my entire life; it is based on the putrid corruption in government that betrays children in their most formative years. A wise judge understands children are safest and most loved when they have both a father and a mother in their life, or just the father."
The email from July 2023 is the basis of one count in the case, while an earlier email from June 2023 forms the basis of the second count.
The earlier email allegedly reads, "Your suicide doesn't suffice, and it won't fix or alter what is coming for you. I haven't received your resignation, and you've failed to justify your existence after all the damage you have caused. You have until the end of the business day to decide if you will quit, or be a fraction of the person you present yourself as."
The charging documents also include numerous highly detailed and extremely graphic threats of death and extreme, torture-like violence against the judge in question.
Zuniga allegedly wrote, "Nothing can save you, and nothing can protect you. Pelosi's husband got attacked in the presence of police. What makes you think anyone is going to spare your life?"
Authorities also mention several Instagram posts in which Zuniga allegedly threatened law enforcement.
One post supposedly says, “You’re very close to being murdered just to keep the peace. Understand the reality of what the situation is. I’ll kill anything that gets in the way of me and my son, whether it's a police station or your family.”
The judge mentioned in the complaint is afraid for their life and their family's lives because of the emails. This fear has caused them a lot of stress, anxiety, and sleepless nights.
Authorities claim the judge's old court email address was mentioned in at least one of the Instagram posts. That email address belonged to a judge who worked at the Lamoreaux Justice Center in Orange County, where Zuniga was involved in the family law dispute. Additionally, authorities say some posts and emails specifically referred to the courthouse itself.
The complaint makes one final point against the defendant.
ZUNIGA is the subject of multiple domestic violence protective orders and a workplace violence order. ZUNIGA has multiple warrants in Orange County for state criminal offenses, including evading police/reckless driving, invasion of privacy, violation of a court order, and criminal threats.
Zuniga was taken into custody on Feb. 27 in San Diego, as stated in a press release from the U.S. Department of Justice on Monday. press release issued by the U.S. Department of Justice on Monday.
Amir Ehsaei, the acting assistant director in charge of the FBI’s Los Angeles field office, said in a statement, “The alarming threats supposedly made by Zuniga Sanchez via e-mail and online caused deep fear for many people in the legal and law enforcement community, and led some to take extra security measures.”