U.S. v. Bradbury

Federal 7th Circuit Court
Criminal Court
Jury Instruction
Citation
Case Number: 
No. 16-1532
Decision Date: 
February 16, 2017
Federal District: 
N.D. Ind., Hammond Div.
Holding: 
Affirmed

Record contained sufficient evidence to support jury’s guilty verdict on charge under 18 USC section 844(e) arising out of defendant’s posting on his Facebook wall that contained false threat that he and others had spearheaded “cop killing group” that had as its goal future killing of two local police officers and blowing up of local office building and courthouse. Dist. Ct. did not err in instructing jury that to act “maliciously” under section 844(e) meant “to act intentionally or with deliberate disregard of the likelihood that damage or injury will result,” and that jury could convict defendant if it concluded that defendant intentionally “conveyed false information, knowing same to be false,” since both instructions adequately stated law. Moreover, jury could properly find that defendant’s posting of threat to blow up courthouse was almost assuredly going to cause substantial harm by diverting law enforcement resources. As such, defendant’s hoax based on threat of harm properly fell within coverage of section 844(e).