Police allege woman threatened judge

Not only did a Kootenai County woman threaten a judge, but she also left a lengthy, rambling, insulting threat in the judge’s telephone voice mail, according to a copy of a Coeur d’Alene police report.

The woman called the judge a number of things including “sick and twisted,” the report states. “Get the potatoes out of your head,” she allegedly said.

The suspect’s name was not released because her child has been placed in protective custody and the case remains under investigation. She called Judge Penny Friedlander’s office last week to complain about being forced to pay the state’s costs of sheltering her son, according to the police report.

The woman apparently did not show up for a court hearing in September and Friedlander ordered a default judgment against her.

“I am on the warpath now,” the woman allegedly said in the phone message. “I’m not scared of nothing anymore. I am on the level with Randy Weaver. Remember Randy Weaver?”

The woman, who identified herself in the message as 51 years old and married to a Harvard University graduate, went on to say she would have Friedlander and another local judge removed from the bench. “I am going to nail you to the cross,” she said. “When was the last time you picked up the constitution? Huh, Penny?”

Sgt. Jason Ayers said police have not yet found the woman. A warrant is already out for her arrest on an unrelated matter, Ayers said, and a new warrant would be sought for the latest charge.

Threatening a judge is a misdemeanor in Idaho. The suspect attempted to intimidate another Kootenai County judge last year, according to the police report. No additional security has been ordered for the latest threat.

“The bailiffs are aware of it and they’ll just do their job,” Ayers said.