LOS ANGELES
A federal grand jury indicted a former Orange County resident for allegedly threatening to kill a superior court judge who presided over his family law case, the Justice Department announced Monday.
Byrom Zuniga Sanchez, 32, formerly of Laguna Niguel but whose most recent residence was in Morella, Mexico, is charged in an indictment returned Friday with two counts of threats by interstate and foreign communication.
Zuniga was arrested on Feb. 27 in San Diego.
He remains in federal custody there.
“The chilling threats allegedly made by Zuniga Sanchez via e-mail and online caused profound fear for many people in the legal and law enforcement community, and forced some to take extra security precautions,” said Amir Ehsaei, the Acting Assistant Director in Charge of the FBI’s Los Angeles Field Office. “The FBI and our partners take such threats extremely seriously so that judges and others who make difficult decisions every day don’t suffer needlessly for simply carrying out their duties.”
Court documents indicate that between May and July 2023, Zuniga sent several death threats by email to a judge and mentioned harming other judges, lawyers, and law enforcement officials.
For instance, in July 2023, he emailed a threat to a judge and talked about killing judges, attorneys, and law enforcement staff.
In September 2023, Zuniga posted a threat on Instagram about attacking a courthouse in Orange related to his previous family law cases. He also made a threat about an active shooting at the courthouse in October 2023.
Authorities believe Zuniga was in Mexico when he made these threats and arrested him when he tried to enter the U.S.
Zuniga is considered innocent until proven guilty. Zuniga could be sentenced to up to five years in federal prison for each charge if found guilty.
The FBI is investigating this matter.
Assistant U.S. Attorney J’me K. Forrest of the Violent and Organized Crime Section is prosecuting this case.