Gov. Kristi Noem gets threats by fax; Wagner, SD, man charged

WAGNER, S.D. — A Wagner, South Dakota, man was arrested after threats were emailed and faxed to South Dakota Gov. Kristi Noem, as well as a First Circuit Court magistrate judge.

Jason Shields, 38, was arrested and charged in October, accused of threatening the lives of Noem and Judge Donna Bucher.

Shields is accused of faxing to a Sioux Falls television station on Oct. 23 a document that contained threats against the governor, according to court documents.

The fax, addressed to "Kristen noem" read:

"I am Jason w shields and I would like to report to (you) that I and several men in the Charles mix county of south Dakota are preparing to kill and (assassinate) the governor of south Dakota... . I feel very passionate it will happen by morning."

Documents note that a DCI supervisor made contact with Charles Mix County Sheriff's Department regarding Shields, as they were conducting an investigation on his involvement with another email addressed to Bucher discovered the same day.

The original email sent to the judge's state Unified Judicial System-appointed email address was found to have been sent the previous day.

The email had been sent from a user by the name "Jace Cathexis" and the subject line read, "You are pure b----." The body of the email contained multiple threats toward both Bucher and another judge.

However, the email was signed "Jason w shields".

Following the discovery of the email, a warrant was sent out for his arrest and Shields was arrested and charged on Thursday, Oct. 27.

When taken in for questioning, Shields admitted to sending both the email and creating and sending the fax document. Shields acknowledged the threatening statements made toward Noem and admitted that he acted alone, and that there were no others were involved in the production or sending of the fax.

Shields was charged with two Class 5 felony charges regarding the threatening of constitutional and judicial officers. If convicted, Shields could face up to five years in prison and up to $10,000 in fines.

Shields has not yet entered a plea.