Left: New York Attorney General Letitia James addresses the press, Nov. 6, 2023, in New York (AP Photo/Ted Shaffrey). Center: Judge Arthur Engoron oversees former President Donald Trump’s civil business fraud trial at New York Supreme Court, Wednesday, Oct. 25, 2023, in New York (Spencer Platt/Pool Photo via AP). Right: Former President Donald Trump speaks during a pause in closing arguments at New York Supreme Court, Thursday, Jan. 11, 2024, in New York (AP Photo/Seth Wenig).
A 27-year-old man in New York who made threats to kill the state’s attorney general and a state judge over their roles in a notable civil case against Donald Trump will avoid jail time after negotiating an agreement with prosecutors and pleading to a reduced charge.
State Supreme Court Justice M. William Boller sentenced Tyler J. Vogel to a one-year conditional discharge on Monday after he admitted guilt to a charge of misdemeanor second-degree aggravated harassment, officials reported.
Vogel in April 2024 pleaded guilty to one count of felony count of making a terroristic threat and one misdemeanor count of making a threat of mass harm in the same case. However, as part of his plea agreement, he completed an interim probation program that included requirements to comply with a series of mandates from mental health court. Based upon his successful completion of the program, Boller was permitted to withdraw his previous admission and plead to a reduced charge.
“In addition to leading a law-abiding life, the defendant was also ordered to continue with counseling as a condition of his sentence,” prosecutors wrote in a news release. “As part of the sentencing proceeding, final orders of protection were issued on behalf of the victims, which remain in effect for the next five years.”
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As previously reported by Law&Crime, Vogel on on March 24, 2024, sent a text message to New York Attorney General Letitia James saying he would use “death and physical harm if she did not comply with his requests to cease action” against Donald Trump. He specifically referred to the seizure of Trump’s assets and properties following New York Supreme Court Justice Arthur Engoron’s February 2024 ruling against the president.
Vogel sent similarly threatening messages to Engoron that were intended to “intimidate or coerce” the judge, prosecutors said.
The criminal complaint filed in the case noted that Vogel used a “paid online background website” to seek out James and Engoron’s private contact information, which prosecutors said “confirmed [his] intentions to follow through with the threats were his demands not met.”
Vogel told James that he was giving her “fair warning” that she was “not to permanently steal Donald Trumps assets or his property.”
“Furthermore,” Vogel wrote, “you are not to imprison Donald Trump.”
Vogel was arrested and detained at the Erie County Holding Center on March 25, 2024. A statement released two days after his arrest by Erie County District Attorney John Flynn noted that if convicted, the 26-year-old had initially been facing a maximum sentence of seven years in prison.
Court documents showed that in texts to both Engoron and James, Vogel told the judge that he would defend himself with “deadly force” and would go after the officials with the same.
In threatening James, Vogel apparently said that he had a “whole wall of deadly weapons” to choose from.
“Mark my words I will kill you if you even dare to permanently steal Donald Trumps assets or his property,” he wrote in one of the messages, according to prosecutors.
