Winton Hills Man, 32, Pleads Guilty to TikTok Death Threat Against Hamilton County Judge

A 32-year-old Winton Hills man pleaded guilty Wednesday to threatening to kill Hamilton County Probate Court Judge Ted “Ralph” Winkler in a TikTok video, telling the court that he wanted someone to put the judge in his casket. Quinn USA admitted to retaliation, and a companion intimidation charge was dismissed as part of the plea deal. A court-ordered mental health evaluation determined that Quinn USA has schizophrenia, and his attorney says the illness played a direct role in the crimes against the judge.

Hamilton County Common Pleas Court Judge Christopher McDowell sentenced Quinn USA to one year in prison for the felony, according to FOX19. Prosecutors say Quinn USA used force or unlawful threats of harm to retaliate against and intimidate the judge on September 7 and again on September 11, 2025, when he posted the threats against Winkler on TikTok. Notably, the threat came one day after Charlie Kirk was assassinated during a public appearance at Utah Valley University, the station reports.

Quinn USA was arrested nearly a year before Wednesday's hearing. At the time of the TikTok post, he was a student at Middle Tennessee State University, and the connection to Judge Winkler traces back to a much more mundane court matter: Winkler had handled a legal name change for Quinn USA. Under Ohio Revised Code § 2717.01, county probate courts hold exclusive jurisdiction over name-change petitions, which is why that administrative filing landed in Winkler's courtroom well before the threats began.

Judge Was ‘Somewhat Scared,’ Attorney Says

Judge Winkler was not present for Wednesday's hearing, but his reaction to the threat was relayed in court. Chris Feldhaus said the judge was upset and somewhat scared about the threat on his life, according to the FOX19 report. Winkler has served on the Hamilton County Probate Court since 2015, after earlier stints on the county's Municipal Court and Common Pleas Court General Division, according to Ballotpedia.

Quinn USA's defense attorney, Clyde Bennett II, told the court that his client and his family respect and understand the sentence and that Quinn USA accepts responsibility for his actions. Bennett also said threatening to kill a judge is extremely detrimental to the legal system, per the same FOX19 account. Quinn USA is being treated with medication for his schizophrenia, the station reports.

The judge who accepted the plea and handed down the sentence, Christopher McDowell, was appointed to the Hamilton County bench by Ohio Governor Mike DeWine in August 2025 after serving as an Army JAG prosecutor, civil litigator, and municipal prosecutor, according to the Office of Governor Mike DeWine. Under Ohio Revised Code § 2921.05, retaliating against a public servant or judge who discharged official duties in a court proceeding is a third-degree felony carrying up to 36 months in prison, making Quinn USA's one-year term a reduced outcome within that statutory range.

More Charges Waiting in Tennessee

Quinn USA's legal troubles don't end with his Ohio prison term. He faces a charge connected to threatening to blow up Middle Tennessee State University, and once he finishes serving his Ohio sentence, he will be moved to Davidson County, Tennessee, to face that case. Video circulating on Facebook indicates that in September 2025, Quinn USA — identifying himself as “Quinn Maria USA” — was arrested in Tennessee without bond after placing recorded phone calls and making online posts threatening to harm staff and close university facilities, alleging he had been improperly expelled as a student.

This is not the first time Judge Winkler has found himself at the center of a social media controversy. In August 2024, the Supreme Court of Ohio issued a public reprimand against him for violating the Code of Judicial Conduct by authorizing and posting inaccurate, inflammatory comments on Facebook regarding a pending probate case, according to Court News Ohio. That earlier controversy is unrelated to the threat Quinn USA made against him, but it forms part of the judge's public record on the bench.

Part of a Wider Pattern of Threats Against Judges

Quinn USA's case lands amid what researchers describe as a national surge in threats against judicial officers. U.S. Marshals Service statistics show documented threats against federal judges reached 564 in fiscal year 2025 and remained elevated with over 400 logged through August 2026, according to Response Technologies. A 2024 survey of nearly 400 state and federal judges across 48 states found that 82.7% worried about their personal safety and 56.1% reported receiving direct personal threats during their careers, per the Maryland State Bar Association.

The Cincinnati area has seen its own recent string of online threat prosecutions. In July, a Miami Township man pleaded guilty in federal court to posting an online threat aimed at Cincinnati residents, an episode Hoodline covered in its report on the federal plea. And in February, a 22-year-old was arrested after a Snapchat threat targeting University of Cincinnati students caused panic in Dabney Hall, as Hoodline also reported at the time.