A federal jury convicted a Dallas man of sending letters threatening to kill federal judges and mailing a white powder intended to resemble biological weapon to a Fort Worth courthouse.
Donald Ray McCray, 67, was found guilty Wednesday on three counts of mailing threats to federal courthouses in North Texas and New York, and one count of sending a hoax biological weapon to the federal courthouse in Fort Worth.
The trial lasted two days and jurors deliberated for just one hour before convicting McCray.
Prosecutors said McCray sent the letters while incarcerated in a Texas state prison. In March 2025, he mailed letters to clerks at federal courthouses in Fort Worth and Amarillo threatening to kill state and federal employees, including judges. The letters contained white powder.
In one instance, one of McCray’s letters containing white powder triggered an emergency response at Fort Worth’s federal courthouse. The building was shut down, and authorities enacted an emergency response to make sure the substance was safe.
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McCray appeared at a federal court hearing shortly after the indictment in June 2025 and made additional threats against government employees and judges.
“With this verdict, North Texas residents held the defendant accountable for his threats and attempts to undermine our judiciary,” U.S. Attorney Ryan Raybould said in a statement.
McCray had been convicted on similar charges before. In 2019, he threatened a Texas state judge under “similar circumstances,” according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of Texas.
He will be sentenced on Aug. 19. He faces up to 10 years in federal prison on each count of mailing threatening communications and up to five years for the hoax biological weapons conviction, along with a potential $250,000 fine.
This article originally published at Dallas man convicted of threatening judges, mailing fake bioweapon to courthouse.