Man sentenced for threatening to ‘torture, mutilate’ Idaho prosecutor and judge
A man who sent detailed descriptions of the ways he planned to kidnap, torture and kill an Idaho prosecutor and judge has been sentenced to prison.
Judge Richard Tallman sentenced Nathanael West, 28, of Twin Falls, at the federal courthouse in Coeur d’Alene on July 31 to eight years in prison, followed by three years of supervised release.
West, who already was incarcerated, pleaded guilty to all counts after a federal grand jury in Idaho indicted him for mailing threatening communications; threatening to assault, kidnap, or murder a federal law enforcement officer with intent to retaliate; and threatening to assault or murder a federal judge with intent to retaliate, according to court records.
An FBI investigation revealed that his targets were Assistant U.S. Attorney David Robins, who previously prosecuted him, and Chief U.S. District Judge David Nye, who sentenced him to seven years in prison in 2022 for threatening to kill three prosecutors, according to a United States Attorney’s Office news release.
West sent letters from prison that “contained graphic descriptions of West’s threat to assault, kidnap, torture, mutilate and murder the prosecutor” and “vividly described West’s threat to assault and murder the judge,” the release said.
Court records show that he was convicted in Ada County in 2019 for one felony count of intimidating a witness and two felony counts of threatening state elected officials.
West’s new sentence won’t begin until he has completed his previous sentences.
“The 96-month sentence in this case is appropriate and justified, reflecting the seriousness, brazen, and violent nature of the defendant’s persistent threats,” Scott E. Bradford, U.S. Attorney for the District of Oregon, said in a statement. “The defendant’s deliberate actions were not only incredibly personal to the victims in this case, but they were also an assault on the integrity of the criminal justice system.”
The U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Idaho was recused from this case, and Assistant U.S. Attorney Thomas H. Edmonds from the District of Oregon was appointed as special attorney to prosecute, according to the United States Attorney’s Office.
