A Texas woman who threatened a federal judge has been found after failing to report to prison. The judge was overseeing a case linked to President Donald Trump. Abigail Shry disappeared days before she had to begin serving a 27-month sentence. A federal warrant was issued. This week, authorities said she is now in custody at a prison in Houston.
The case began in August 2023 when District Judge Tanya Chutkan was assigned to Trump’s 2020 election interference case. Prosecutors say Shry left a voicemail in the judge’s chambers. The message included racist language calling Chutkan a “stupid slave [epithet]” and a threat. “If Trump doesn’t get elected in 2024, we’re coming to kill you. So tread lightly,” she said.
She later pleaded guilty in federal court in Texas, reports Raw Story.
Court records show Shry admitted to making violent threats not only against Chutkan but also against members of Congress and Texas lawmakers. In one message cited by police, she warned of an “armed attack” on the Texas Capitol if Attorney General Ken Paxton were impeached. She said it would be more violent than January 6.
🇺🇸 US | Texas woman missing
Abigail Shry failed to report to federal prison in Florida after being sentenced to 27 months for threatening Judge Tanya Chutkan, overseeing Trump election fraud cases. Authorities have issued a federal arrest warrant
-ju. pic.twitter.com/7G2SqgTGfV
— JU Monitor 🌎 (@PenalpaMadrid) February 20, 2026
In November 2024, she was sentenced to 27 months in federal prison.
She was ordered to self-surrender to a federal correctional facility in Tallahassee, Florida, in February. But, Shry did not show up.
The court then issued a bench warrant. And federal agents began searching for the missing criminal.
CBS News correspondent Scott MacFarlane reported that Shry had “gone on the lam.” On social media, he wrote, “Abigail Shry failed to report to prison. A warrant has been issued. She is now in custody and serving her sentence.”
Other posts from him followed. “She was due in Florida. Now she’s in Houston custody.” “Bench warrant executed.” Short, blunt updates with no drama added.
Prosecutors had raised alarms about her behavior before sentencing. At a detention hearing in 2023, a federal prosecutor described her as “unmoored” and warned the court there was “no way to gauge what’s going to happen next.” The government argued her threats were escalating.
“Abigail J. Shry admitted that…placed a call to the chambers of a federal judge…statements and threats to anyone that went after then former President Donald Trump…direct threat…democrats in Washington D.C. and all people in the LGBTQ community.”https://t.co/U7LSAp3ex2
— Doeseydotes (@doeseydotes) February 20, 2026
Texas state records show Shry also faced a separate case in 2023. At the time, she was tied to threats against state senators. She pleaded no contest and agreed to serve 90 days in jail. Police reports said she warned there would be “war on the Texas Capitol” if Paxton lost his position.
Threats against judges and public officials are serious crimes. The U.S. Marshals Service say there were more than 1,000 threats against federal judges in the past few years. Security for judges increased after many high-profile incidents. The 2020 fatal shooting of the son of U.S. District Judge Esther Salas at her home was a turning point.
Shry’s failure to surrender adds another legal problem. Skipping a self-report date can trigger additional charges under federal law. Former prosecutors have said it undermines the trust courts place in defendants allowed to remain free before serving time.
There was no public statement from her defense team this week.
By midweek, authorities confirmed she is serving her sentence in Texas. The transfer from Florida to Houston was not explained in detail. Federal prison records list her in custody.
