The U.S. Federal Courthouse in Central Islip in June, 2022.

The U.S. Federal Courthouse in Central Islip in June, 2022. Credit: Newsday/Steve Pfost

A judge detained a Calverton man in federal custody Monday who authorities said had threatened Wednesday to return to a Central Islip courthouse with "armed troops" to arrest another judge "for treason" before he attacked a court security officer in an elevator the next day.

A lawyer for Robert Wilson, 63, declined to comment after his client's arraignment on a charge of assaulting a federal officer.

The proceeding happened Monday in the same federal courthouse where authorities said Wilson caused the violence on Aug. 11 that injured three court security officers.

U.S. Magistrate Judge Arlene Lindsay said during the Monday arraignment she had read Wilson's "manifesto" with regard to the judiciary, which she said included a statement saying judges have no right to enter orders.

She ordered that Wilson be kept in custody, saying he "presents a danger" to the community "and to the entire judiciary."                         

Defense attorney Evan Sugar didn't argue for bail and Assistant U.S. Attorney Burton Ryan asked the judge to keep Wilson in custody.

Authorities say the alleged assault followed an Aug. 10 visit by Wilson to the courthouse, when he filed paperwork in the clerk's office in connection with ongoing civil litigation.

Records show he previously filed a lawsuit against former Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo and several Suffolk County officials, including County Executive Steve Bellone, regarding what appears to be a dispute involving a home improvement contractor license.

"While at the office, Wilson stated, in sum and substance and in part, that if 'the judge' did not 'follow the rules,' Wilson would return with 'armed troops' in order to 'arrest the judge for treason,'" a federal complaint says of the defendant's behavior on Aug. 10 in the clerk's office.

The document alleges that Wilson, who identified himself in court paperwork as a disabled U.S. Air Force veteran, then returned to the courthouse at about 10:15 a.m. on Aug. 11 and asked where a judge's office was while going through a security checkpoint.

A court security officer escorted Wilson to the elevator bank after officers told him he wasn't allowed to see that particular judge, according to authorities.

But Wilson allegedly attacked the officer behind the closed doors of an elevator a short time later, "by grabbing the back of his neck, forcing him to the ground, and punching him several times in the side rib cage area," the complaint says.

The officer put out a distress call with his radio when the elevator arrived on the seventh floor of the courthouse, and several court security officers then tried to detain Wilson, according to the allegations.

Authorities say Wilson resisted and also injured two other court security officers before a group of them took him into custody. 

Federal prosecutors declined to comment on the case Monday or to describe the extent of the officers' injuries. The complaint says all three went to a hospital "so that their injuries could be assessed."

Records show Wilson wrote in an Aug. 8 document he submitted in his civil case that judges including U.S. District Judge Gary Brown — who is presiding in that case — "are holding their office illegally and are committing Treason by doing so."

Lindsay on Monday indicated Wilson was attempting to visit "Judge Brown" before the alleged violence last week.

 Records show Wilson also complained in his Aug. 8 paperwork that the pro se litigation he filed was nearly a year old and hadn't moved beyond the motion stage "in complete violation" of his civil rights.

He also included a "revised" version of the Declaration of Independence and provided a link to a web address he said featured his revision of the U.S. Constitution.

Rock climbing? Indoor beach volleyball? Water parks? Arts and crafts? NewsdayTV's Elisa DiStefano and Newsday deputy lifestyle editor Meghan Giannotta have your look at ways to spend your winter break. Credit: Newsday/Howard Schnapp, Kendall Rodriguez; Gary Licker

Things to do now on LI Rock climbing? Indoor beach volleyball? Water parks? Arts and crafts? NewsdayTV's Elisa DiStefano and Newsday deputy lifestyle editor Meghan Giannotta have your look at ways to spend your winter break.

Rock climbing? Indoor beach volleyball? Water parks? Arts and crafts? NewsdayTV's Elisa DiStefano and Newsday deputy lifestyle editor Meghan Giannotta have your look at ways to spend your winter break. Credit: Newsday/Howard Schnapp, Kendall Rodriguez; Gary Licker

Things to do now on LI Rock climbing? Indoor beach volleyball? Water parks? Arts and crafts? NewsdayTV's Elisa DiStefano and Newsday deputy lifestyle editor Meghan Giannotta have your look at ways to spend your winter break.

FLASH SALE

$1 FOR ONE YEAR

Unlimited Digital Access

SUBSCRIBE NOW >>Cancel anytime - new subscribers only