A Miami man’s decades-long harassment campaign against the judiciary and federal authorities resulted in a 20-year jail sentence extension. Michael Dean Drew, 51, was sentenced in Miami federal court after pleading guilty to five counts of sending threatening communications.
Drew, who has been imprisoned five times before for identical acts, will serve his new term concurrently with his present sentence, according to a Department of Justice press statement.
Drew’s conviction came after he wrote a series of threatening letters from his state jail cell, one of which portrayed brutal deaths to federal judges and prosecutors.
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In May 2023, he threatened a federal judge in the Southern District of Florida, and in succeeding months, he targeted additional federal judges, U.S. Marshals, and Assistant United States Attorneys in Virginia and Georgia. In a letter to court officials, he claimed to have the assistance of gang members and the Aryan Nation to carry out his murderous intentions.
Drew’s activities sparked heated reactions from federal law enforcement officers. “The U.S. Attorney’s Office will not tolerate heinous threats of violence against prosecutors, the judiciary, and our law enforcement partners,” U.S. Attorney Markenzy Lapointe for the Southern District of Florida stated in the Department of Justice statement. Attorney General Merrick B. Garland also stressed the gravity of such threats to public employees, emphasizing a zero-tolerance approach.
Drew was recently sentenced following investigations by the FBI Miami and the United States Marshals Service Miami. Assistant United States Attorneys Daniel Funk and Zachary A. Keller prosecuted the case, while Assistant United States Attorney Emily R. Stone handled the asset forfeiture.
In a statement, Jeffrey B. Veltri, Special Agent in Charge of the FBI’s Miami Field Office, emphasized the significance of ensuring that those who administer justice are not intimidated or threatened. “The FBI will relentlessly investigate and bring to justice those individuals who attempt to tip the scales of justice through fear and threats,” Veltri told the Department of Justice.
Further information on the case and related court papers may be obtained on the District Court for the Southern District of Florida’s website or in the PACER system under case number 24-CR-20039. Drew’s history of threats and the federal reaction highlight the justice system’s dedication to protecting its members and upholding the rule of law in the face of such obstacles.