Indianapolis Man Charged With New Threats Against Chief Justice

Michael Cable, 53, is charged with intimidating Chief Justice Loretta Rush for the second time this year. Prosecutors say he mailed a handwritten letter to Rush this month from the Marion County jail. He was already awaiting trial on earlier threats against the chief justice.

The letter read: "You will be murdered, maimed, mutilated, tied-up, tortured, traumatized, torn to pieces and hung from the rafters." Attorney Mario Massillamany, who is not connected to the cases, said the state's courts take such statements seriously.

Indiana State Police arrested Cable in May at his home along Dequincy. That arrest followed an envelope that reached Rush's desk in which Cable allegedly identified himself as the grandson of Jesus and threatened to kill Rush and her family. Massillamany said courts must handle these matters or people will avoid the bench and prosecution work.

Cable also faces July charges for allegedly threatening to kill two current and former Marion County sheriff's deputies. Last month, a court found him not competent to stand trial on the May and July cases and sent him to the Indiana Department of Mental Health. Massillamany said a competency order pauses the trials but does not end them, adding that treatment can restore competency at a later date.

Court records show Cable has been charged 16 times over two decades with intimidating or harassing various victims. He is held without bond, with an initial hearing on the new charges set for later this week. Prosecutors have asked for a bond above the standard level.