Grand jury: KY prison inmate sent anthrax threat to then-Gov. Bevin before election
A Kentucky prison inmate sent a threatening note about a toxic substance to then-Gov. Matt Bevin a few weeks before Bevin lost reelection last November, a federal grand jury has charged.
The grand jury indicted John Thomas Jurgensen on one charge of sending false information that indicated he possessed a toxin that could be used as a weapon, and one charge of causing the U.S. Postal Service to deliver the envelope.
The envelope was a threat to injure Bevin and another person not named in the indictment, containing a “substance purporting to be anthrax” and a note with the word ANTHRAX! written on it, the indictment charged.
Anthrax bacteria can cause a potentially fatal illness, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Jurgensen allegedly addressed the note to Bevin and sent it Oct. 1.
Bevin, a Republican, was in a tight race for a second term at the time. He had faced criticism for insulting teachers and others, and narrowly lost to then-Attorney General Andy Beshear.
The indictment against Jurgensen did not indicate a motive for allegedly sending Bevin the note.
A motion filed Monday identified Jurgensen, 46, as an inmate at the Kentucky State Reformatory in LaGrange.
Court records show he is serving a 10-year sentence from Fayette County for fraudulent use of a credit card totaling more than $60,000.
That would mean he was in prison when he allegedly sent the threat to Bevin’s office.
Jurgensen has faced other charges in Lexington as well, including terroristic threatening and making harassing communications.
In a separate federal case in 1996, a man identified as John T. Jurgensen pleaded guilty to charges that included mailing threatening communications. The file available online did not include details of the charges.
Jurgensen was ordered to undergo a psychiatric evaluation in that case but was judged competent to face the charges. He was sentenced to two years in prison, the court docket shows.
While Jurgensen was on supervised release, a federal judge ordered another evaluation for him, citing cause to believe he was suffering from a mental disease or defect, according to the court docket.
The two new federal charges against him each carry a maximum sentence of five years in prison.
