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Main Jailed For Threatening To Kill Judge

    A Fruitland Park man has been jailed after threatening to kill Eustis resident and 5th Circuit Judge Brian Welke.  Michael Eduardo Lee is facing charges of Intimidation: Written threat to kill; and Crimes against person:  Corrupt by threat of public servant or family.  Lee is being held with no bond ahead of a scheduled September court date.
    Lee, who has a history with Welke after appearing before him several years ago, came onto law enforcement’s radar regarding the judge in February of this year, when officials with the Genesee County Sheriff’s Office in Michigan - who were investing Lee in association with another case - found posts on a social media account that included ‘threatening messages directed at Lake County Judge Brian Welke.’
    An ensuing Lake County Sheriff’s Office investigation found several posts involving Welke,  most from this past February, with a variety of opinions on Welke including “I am a feared man in the courthouse Judge Brian Welke at one time got 10 LCSO deputy’s (sic) to surround me in his courtroom BECAUSE I THREATENED TO SLAP THE SMARK (sic) OFF HIS CORRUPT FACE.  I don’t back down I FEAR NO MAN butt (sic) the Messiah and The Holy Ghost.”
    Lee also posted in February that "I will not rest tell (sic) either you die by my hands or your get impeached or arrested.  I am your worst nightmare."
    Additional posts go into some detail about how Lee would go about getting away with a crime against Welke, including creating an alibi. 
    In the posts, Lee portrays himself as a former professional assassin.
    Reached this week, Welke declined to comment on the specifics of the case other than to say his interactions with Lee stem from a family law case in 2018.
    Lee was formally charged on August 13.