A 58-year-old New Albany man is facing six Level 5 felony intimidation charges after prosecutors say he threatened to kill Southern Indiana judges in a series of Facebook videos recorded inside his own apartment. Donald L. Moore Jr. had an initial hearing scheduled for Wednesday following his arrest.
According to court records cited by the News and Tribune, Moore posted a video referring to a civil case he is involved in, including comments about Floyd Superior Judge James Hancock's mother. In the same video, Moore reportedly referenced the federal government ignoring an apparent complaint he had filed and said he was willing to die for the cause, the court records state.
New Albany police investigators noted in an affidavit that they had already been tracking Moore's online activity before the arrest, pointing to prior social media posts and a welfare check conducted at his apartment on September 2. During that visit, officers located no firearms inside the apartment; Moore told police, per the same court records, that he had given his gun to a friend to hold. The affidavit also described Moore's social media activity.
Charges Tied to Floyd County's Judicial Bench
Moore was charged with intimidation against Floyd County Superior Court judges Maria Granger and Carrie Stiller, along with Magistrate Julie Fessel Flanigan, according to the newspaper's reporting. Under Indiana Code § 35-45-2-1, communicating a threat is generally a Class A misdemeanor, but the offense is elevated to a Level 5 felony when the threat targets a judicial officer or court bailiff connected to their official duties, as detailed by Justia Law. That enhancement helps explain why Moore faces felony rather than misdemeanor counts across his six charges.
A Level 5 felony conviction in Indiana carries a prison sentence ranging from one to six years, with an advisory starting point of three years and fines that can reach $10,000 per count, according to state sentencing guidelines outlined by IN.gov. With six separate counts filed against him, Moore's potential criminal exposure is substantial if he is convicted on all charges.
Who Are the Judges Named in the Case
Judge Maria Granger, who presides over Floyd Superior Court 3, announced in late 2025 that she plans to retire in 2026 after serving since 2009 as that court's inaugural judge. She also established Indiana's first certified Veterans Court in 2011, according to background reported by Extol Media.
Judge Carrie Stiller, who sits on Floyd Superior Court 1 and assumed her seat in January 2021, helped launch the county's Drug Interdiction Task Force in 2024 to direct opioid settlement funds toward court-connected addiction treatment and behavioral health resources, per reporting from WHAS11. Magistrate Julie Fessel Flanigan, the third judicial officer named in the charges, was appointed by Floyd County judges to serve as court magistrate on September 1, 2014, after earning her law degree from Northeastern University in 1992, according to state records.
Estate Dispute Triggered Hancock's Recusal
The threats stem from an estate case in Floyd County in which Moore is involved. Judge James Hancock was initially assigned to the case but recused himself, and Nicholas Karaffa was appointed to preside over the civil matter as a special judge. Karaffa has served as Clark Circuit Court 1 judge in neighboring Jeffersonville since his appointment by Governor Eric Holcomb in November 2022, according to Ballotpedia. Special judges are typically appointed from neighboring counties when a local judge steps aside from a case.
Moore's case follows a pattern of digital threats against Indiana's judiciary that has drawn attention from both state and federal authorities this year. In August, federal prosecutors unsealed an indictment against a man accused of threatening and harassing a Lake County judge before allegedly fabricating federal court orders to drop his own local charges, as Hoodline previously reported. The Lake County case is another instance of alleged threats against an Indiana judge.
A separate Indiana case also involved online threats. In Moore's case, officers conducted a welfare check and found no firearms in his apartment before charges were filed.
