Woman Arrested For Death Threats Against Judge Who Appointed Mar-A-Lago Special Master

Topline

A woman in Texas was arrested last week after allegedly making multiple death threats against a federal district judge who appointed a special master to review documents the government seized at former President Donald Trump’s Mar-A-Lago estate, one of a growing number of recent threats made against federal judges.

Former President Donald Trump’s Mar-A-Lago estate on August 16 in Palm Beach, Florida.

Anadolu Agency via Getty Images

Key Facts

Federal prosecutors arrested Houston resident Tiffani Gish on September 6, according to a criminal complaint first reported Monday, after she allegedly left three voicemails for U.S. District Judge Aileen M. Cannon on September 1 with threats against the judge’s life.

Gish referred to herself as “Trump’s hitman” and said he was “marked for assassination” along with Cannon, telling her in voicemails to “stand the f–k down or get shot” and that she “already ordered snipers and a bomb to your f–king house.”

The government said in its complaint that federal agents visited Gish’s house on September 4 and she confirmed that she left the voicemails.

The Justice Department asked the court in a separate filing to let the government evaluate Gish’s mental competency, arguing there’s “reasonable cause to believe that [she]

Gish has previously made threats against Trump and former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, the filing notes, was charged with aggravated assault with a deadly weapon in 2020 and has previously “claimed to be a CIA agent, a Navy SEAL, an Army Ranger, and someone familiar with nuclear weapons or war.”

Gish’s attorney and the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Florida, where Cannon serves as a judge, have not yet responded to requests for comment.

What To Watch For

A hearing will take place on Tuesday on the government’s request to evaluate Gish’s competency.

Key Background

Cannon has drawn criticism for her ruling ordering a third-party special master to review the more than 11,000 documents seized at Mar-A-Lago and determine whether any are shielded by attorney-client or executive privilege—the latter of which is controversial, given that the federal government argues documents can’t be shielded under executive privilege by the actual executive branch. The judge, whom Trump appointed, ruled against the DOJ’s argument that appointing a special master was unnecessary and would hurt its investigation into the White House documents Trump brought back to Mar-A-Lago by delaying it. Cannon argued a special master was necessary given that some of Trump’s personal belongings were also seized, and so that Trump wouldn’t suffer “reputational harm” if he gets indicted based on something that should be privileged. Her ruling has been widely criticized by legal experts, who referred to her legal reasoning to the New York Times as “deeply problematic,” “radical” and “laughably bad,” and the Justice Department has asked her to pause part of the ruling as it pertains to classified documents.

Tangent

There have been a number of threats against federal judges and justices in recent months as high-profile rulings have drawn controversy. Supreme Court justices faced threats over controversial rulings the court made including overturning Roe v. Wade, including a man who was charged with attempted murder against Justice Brett Kavanaugh, and Congress passed a bill in June increasing justices’ security. U.S. Magistrate Judge Bruce Reinhart, who signed off on the DOJ’s search warrant to search Mar-A-Lago, has also faced threats from Trump supporters over his decision, and WPTV reports anti-Semitic threats made against the judge led the synagogue he belongs to to cancel some services out of caution.

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Key Facts

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Key Background

Tangent

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