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SALT LAKE CITY (AP) -- A Utah prisoner has been accused of threatening from behind bars to kill a federal judge.
In an indictment, a federal grand jury said Richard Dee Thomas made the threat in a letter mailed June 30th to Judge Dee Benson of U-S District Court in Salt Lake City.
The indictment gave no details about the threat except that it was made to intimidate and retaliate against the judge.
Fifty-one-year-old Thomas is charged with threatening a federal officer and mailing a threatening communication.
Thomas is currently in the Utah State Prison for armed robbery. He also has a lengthy felony record.
Thomas has filed dozens of lawsuits in state and federal courts from 1986 to 2002. He unsuccessfully challenged his convictions and alleging violations of his rights by jail and prison officials.
Out of the 18 legal actions filed in U-S District Court, four were assigned to Benson.
(Copyright 2005 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)
