Overview
- The new filing says Magistrate Judge Patricia Donahue received four Feb. 22 voicemails threatening death and mass destruction while urging her to "free" Durk Banks and co-defendant Deandre Wilson.
- The defense asserts the FBI’s Joint Terrorism Task Force and the U.S. Marshals ran a covert investigation, including an interview of a suspected caller, yet the defense was not informed until Oct. 1.
- Donahue, identified as a victim in the threats, still conducted a May 8 detention hearing and denied release, and U.S. District Judge Michael Fitzgerald upheld detention in June.
- Prosecutors later cited safety concerns in a November request for an anonymous jury, as court records also describe an April 28 threat against lead AUSA Ian Yanniello and courthouse staff.
- The motions seek dismissal of the indictment or disqualification of the Central District’s judges and prosecutors, with trial set for Jan. 20, 2026, on murder-for-hire and stalking-resulting-in-death charges.