Colorado man convicted of threatening judges: 'You will be dead'

A 42-year-old man was convicted recently of threatening two judges and a court clerk after his discrimination case was dismissed. 

A federal judge in New York found Akram Marseet guilty on Oct. 2, according to the U.S. Attorney's Office in the Western District of New York. 

Marseet, a native a Libya, according to federal prosecutors, currently lives in Golden, Colorado.

As described by investigators in the criminal complaint, Marseet phoned the court clerk's office on Jan. 10, 2024. He complained to the clerk about a ruling made earlier in the day regarding a discrimination case Marseet had filed against an employer. The judge dismissed Marseet's case with prejudice, meaning legal action could never be filed again for those particular claims.  

Marseet, according to the complaint, called the judges "criminals" and an expletive, then said "If I ever come across any of you, you will be dead sons of b------."

Federal prosecutors filed the threats case against Marseet the following day. The conviction carries a maximum sentence of 10 years in prison. That sentencing hearing is scheduled for Feb. 1, 2027. 

"Today's verdict reinforces a fundamental principle: Threats against members of our judiciary will never be tolerated," stated U.S. Attorney for Western New York Michael DiGiacomo in a press release. "Judges deserve to carry out their work free from intimidation and threats of violence."  

In the earlier discrimination case, Marseet claimed he was paid less than other student-employees at the Rochester Institute of Technology. According to the complaint, he claimed his mistreatment was due to a racial bias. Marseet was employed there during the last two years of his pursuit of a master's degree in electrical engineering, per the complaint. He was expelled from the school in 2020 following a disciplinary hearing prompted - according to Marseet in the complaint - by another student's false allegations against him. 

Marseet also claimed a mental health disability, and the school's insufficient accomodations for it, prevented him from successfully defending himself against those allegations. 

There is no information in the case documents, nor in online public records, indicating when Marseet moved to Colorado from New York.