Man accused of stalking a Wisconsin Supreme Court justice is sentenced to probation in plea deal
Jan 6, 2026, 9:22 AM | Updated: 9:26 am
MADISON, Wis. (AP) — A Wisconsin man accused of sending the state Supreme Court’s chief justice intimidating emails has been sentenced to probation.
Ryan Thornton, 37, of Racine, was charged in Dane County in October with one count of felony stalking as well as misdemeanor counts of intimidating a victim and disorderly conduct.
According to a criminal complaint, Thornton sent Chief Justice Jill Karofsky emails this past fall accusing her of being manipulative, telling her to “eject” herself from office and asking for her home address.
Online court records indicate that prosecutors dismissed the stalking charge on Monday. In exchange Thornton pleaded guilty to the misdemeanor counts and was sentenced to two years on probation. He also was ordered to have no contact with Karofsky and was banned from Dane County, where the state Supreme Court chambers are located in the capital of Madison.
Thornton’s attorney, listed in court records as Anthony John Jurek, didn’t immediately respond to an email message Tuesday from The Associated Press seeking comment.
Thornton told investigators that he was upset with an attorney he hired to represent him in a 2019 strangulation case and that the Office of Lawyer Regulation, a Supreme Court office that disciplines attorneys, hasn’t investigated the lawyer. According to the complaint, Thornton called the office more than 70 times from Aug. 1 to Oct. 1 to complain about the attorney.
Karofsky told investigators that Thornton’s messages frightened her to the point she was afraid to leave her house to get her mail and asked police to escort her to her seat during a Milwaukee Brewers game and a Wisconsin Badgers game.
