MADISON, Wis. — Ryan Thornton, 37, of Racine, Wisconsin, was sentenced to two years of probation after Dane County prosecutors dropped a felony stalking charge against him in exchange for guilty pleas on two misdemeanor counts, resolving a case in which he was accused of sending threatening emails to Wisconsin Supreme Court Chief Justice Jill Karofsky, according to court records.
The case is part of a documented pattern of threats against Wisconsin’s judiciary: the state Supreme Court recorded 188 threats against Wisconsin judges in 2024, more than double the 74 threats recorded in 2022.
Thornton was initially charged in October with stalking, intimidating a victim and disorderly conduct. Prosecutors dismissed the stalking count Monday in exchange for Thornton pleading guilty to the two misdemeanor counts.
Online court records show Thornton was ordered to have no contact with Karofsky and barred from Dane County — home to the state Supreme Court in Madison — unless his probation agent approves a visit for a legitimate reason.
According to a criminal complaint, Thornton sent Karofsky emails this past fall accusing her of being manipulative, telling her to “eject” herself from office and asking for her home address.
Karofsky told investigators that Thornton’s messages frightened her to the point she was afraid to leave her house to get her mail and asked police to escort her to her seat during a Milwaukee Brewers game and a Wisconsin Badgers game.
Thornton’s attorney, Anthony Jurek, said in an email to The Associated Press on Tuesday that he filed motions arguing the charges violated Thornton’s constitutional right to free speech and that his $85,000 cash bail was excessive. Prosecutors offered the plea deal if Thornton agreed to withdraw the motions, Jurek said.
Karofsky said in a statement Tuesday that she was targeted for doing her job and “that is unacceptable.”
“A court cannot carry out its constitutional role if the people inside the courthouse do not feel secure,” she said. “The courts of Wisconsin belong to the people of Wisconsin. Judicial independence survives only when the law — not politics, threats or violence — guides our courts.”
Thornton told investigators he was upset with an attorney he hired to represent him in a 2019 strangulation case and that the Office of Lawyer Regulation, a Supreme Court office that disciplines attorneys, had not investigated the lawyer. According to the criminal complaint, Thornton called the office more than 70 times from Aug. 1 to Oct. 1 to complain about the attorney.
The Wisconsin Supreme Court recorded 188 threats against Wisconsin judges in 2024, the most recent year for which data was available. That compares with 232 threats in 2023 and 74 in 2022.