CNN anchors Don Lemon and Brian Stelter speak at sentencing of Trump supporter who threatened journalists: 'My family was in danger'

NEW YORK — A supporter of former President Donald Trump was sentenced to three years in prison Monday during a hearing that featured emotional remarks by CNN anchors Don Lemon and Brian Stelter about the fear caused by the rabid right-winger's messages. Robert Lemke sent threats to more than 50 prominent journalists, politicians and their family members in the aftermath of Trump's 2020 election defeat. Before Manhattan Federal Judge Alvin Hellerstein imposed sentence, he heard from some of Lemke's victims. Lemon recalled receiving menacing messages targeting him and his fiance. "I am tired of looking over my shoulder. I am tired of being suspicious of even friendly faces in public," Lemon said in an emotional statement read in court. "I am tired of being called fake news … I am tired of being called names like 'f—' and 'n—' in public by people like Robert Lemke. "I am exhausted. We are exhausted and tired," Lemon said. "It is insulting to me that Robert Lemke thinks that he is a victim … 'Trump made me do it. The media made me do it,'" Lemon said. "He's a grown man!" Lemke unleashed the threats between November 2020 and January 2021. He sent 19 threatening messages on Jan. 6, the day of the insurrection at the U.S. Capitol. Stelter described receiving creepy messages from Lemke about his family. One message included a picture of the grave of Stelter's father, who died in 2001 and is buried in Damascus, Ma. Another described the "nice dense trees" behind the home of Stelter's mother. "He was saying my family was in danger because I was telling the truth on TV," Stelter said in court. Stelter recalled Lemke messaging to meet him downstairs, seemingly indicating he knew where the "Reliable Sources" host lived. "Intimidating a person to shut them up is intolerable," Stelter said. "The press cannot be truly free if it is subject to threats and harassment." The Daily News exclusively reported in October that Stelter was among Lemke's victims. Lemke, a Bay Area resident, initially lied to prosecutors, falsely claiming to be both a sergeant with the Alameda County sheriff's office and a former Air Force captain, the feds said. Lemke's victims also included relatives of Rep. Hakeem Jeffries, D-N.Y., and ABC News anchor George Stephanopoulos. He also threatened Sen. Tammy Duckworth, D-Ill., the mayor of a major American city and the CEO of a nonprofit, said prosecutors. Lemke pleaded guilty in December, but still seemed to maintain his belief that President Joe Biden did not legitimately win the election. "I wholeheartedly believed I was a voice for those being silenced after the election, and was sincerely defending not only the election itself against fraud, but what I believed was the silenced voice of the voters for Donald Trump," Lemke wrote in a letter to the court before his sentencing. "I now understand I could have done them all: Defended the election and become a voice for silenced voters, while still being persistent and heard, yet compassionate and respectful." In letters to the court, Lemke described his threats as "rude" and "immoral." He also said he hoped to support Trump's 2024 campaign for president. "I had gone mad. My actions were reckless and hateful," Lemke said Monday. "I read all the victim impact letters not once not twice but numerous times. Your letters and speeches today have changed my life permanently for the better." He and his attorneys had argued he should be released because he'd done enough time since his arrest in January. But Hellerstein said Lemke was no political prisoner. "His sentence has nothing to do with his opinions," Hellerstein said. "He is not a victim. There is a difference between speech and criminal threats." ——— ©2021 New York Daily News. Visit at nydailynews.com. Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.