SAN FRANCISCO—El Cerrito resident David Pokorny, 45, remains behind bars in a Alameda County Santa Rita Jail, facing up to 10 years in federal prison if found guilty on federal charges. Those charges include state charges, for hate crime enhanced charges for Oakland Mayor Barbara Lee. He has pleaded not guilty to the state charges.
On Thursday, January 8, as the grand jury decision loomed, Pokorny’s email to Senior Judge Charles Breyer of United States for the Northern District of California that Pokorny would like to ‘skin’ Breyer. Pokorny also wrote that he’s “a terrorist, and I’m happy to spill your blood,” and “Spilling the blood of tyrants like you feels good.”
On Wednesday, January 7, 2026, a scheduled preliminary hearing was delayed. Prosecutors indicated a federal grand jury may soon indict Pokorny, possibly adding charges that he made threats against Judge Breyer.
On Monday, September 22, 2025, Mayor Lee’s staff discovered the alarming messages whilst perusing her inbox. On Sunday, September 21, 2025, a threatening email came in for Mayor Lee, which stated, “You are a psychopath, and I’m going to torture and murder you.” On Sunday, September 7, 2025, the first threatening email, full of racial slurs and death threats to kill government officials, came in for Mayor Lee.
On Tuesday, September 2, 2025, Pokorny send 11 emails to United States (U.S.) Attorney’s Office in San Francisco, targeting Judge Breyer, referring the judge as “enemy combatant.”
From Tuesday, October 7, 2025 to Wednesday, October 8, 2025, Pokorny was apprehended by United States (U.S.) Marshals Service while at Southern California in San Diego Area hotel and booked into Santa Rita Jail.
On Tuesday, October 28, 2025, an Alameda County Superior Court judge ruled that there is enough evidence for a trial for threatening Mayor Lee. On Tuesday, October 14, 2025, federal prosecutors in the beginning charged Pokorny with a single count of threatening a judicial officer. While Alameda County prosecutors charged him with a felony count for threatening a public official (Mayor Lee) with a hate crime enhancement.
