A Venango County man was found guilty Thursday of a misdemeanor charge of harassment for sending letters referencing Nazis to a Butler County judge and his neighbors.

A jury found Daniel Colorado Jones, 63, of Emlenton, guilty of harassment by repeated communications at the conclusion of a one-day trial in Butler County Common Pleas Court. Senior Judge Kenneth G. Valasek will order a date for sentencing.

Common Pleas Court Judge Timothy McCune testified that he was upset after reading a copy of the letter that was mailed to his home in September from Jones, who he had found guilty of driving under the influence of alcohol in July.

The judge’s wife and one of their neighbors, who also received a copy of the letter, testified that they were frightened after reading the letter.

Jones, who represented himself with assistance from a court-appointed attorney, testified that the letter was meant as a protest and not a threat against McCune.

In addition, Jones said a sign that he placed in the bed of his pick-up truck that he parked outside of the courthouse the day before he mailed the letters referring to McCune as “Nazi vermin” was also a protest against injustice.

McCune found Jones guilty of first-offense DUI and a summary charge of disorderly conduct in a non-jury trial in July, and sentenced him to six months of probation. State police filed the DUI charge following a September 2018 traffic stop. The disorderly conduct charge was added later.

Jones parked the truck with the sign in its bed outside the courthouse on Sept. 15, 2021, the day before he was originally scheduled to be sentenced.

When Jones appeared for sentencing the next day, McCune asked him about the sign. Jones said the sign wasn’t meant to be a threat, but he also told the judge he had sent a letter about him to his home and to his neighbors.

They received the letters Sept. 18 when McCune said he was out of town.

He testified that his wife called him and was upset about a letter one of their neighbors received. He said he read the letter when he got home. The return information on the envelope contained Jones’ name and address.

“It was upsetting,” McCune said. “I was bewildered.”

He said he called police, the Butler County Sheriff’s Office and reported the letter to the state Supreme Court security division. He said he asked police to conduct extra patrols in the neighborhood.

McCune said he was planning to go on a trip with some friends and considered telling his wife not to stay at home while he was gone because of the letter. He said the reference to Nazis in the letter is what concerned him the most.

He also said he was concerned and shocked about the sign Jones displayed outside the courthouse.

Under cross examination from Jones, McCune said he considered the letter and statements he made during his Sept. 16 court appearance as threats.

Under questioning from Deputy Attorney General Alicia Sutton Werner, who prosecuted the case, McCune said Jones called him a “cheat” and made a reference to “blood in the water” during that court appearance.

“I took it as a threatening statement,” McCune said.

His wife, Patricia McCune, testified that she was not home when neighbor Tyler Large texted her a copy of the two-page letter. When she returned home, she said she found a letter in her mailbox with a swastika on the envelope.

“I was scared,” she said. She said she found the letter to be threatening and she feared for her neighbors.

She said the sheriff’s office offered to post someone outside of her home, but she declined.

Jones, testifying under questioning from court-appointed attorney Armand Cingolani, said McCune didn’t consider the evidence he presented and denied all of his motions at his DUI trial, in which he also represented himself.

He said McCune didn’t care and said he had a “Nazi attitude.”

“I thought I was treated unfairly,” Jones said.

He said he mailed the letters to tell McCune and his neighbors that the judge has no respect for the people who appear before him in court.

Jones admitted the swastika and references to Nazis were “negative symbols” that were meant to grab attention and expose negative behavior.

He said the letters he sent to McCune’s neighbors were not meant to be threatening, and he doesn’t understand why they felt threatened.

Jones said he stayed in the bed of the truck with the sign and didn’t harass anybody. He said a deputy sheriff approached him, took photos of him and the sign and left.

“I’m protesting what I thought was an injustice,” Jones said, about the sign.

At the sentencing hearing, he said he told McCune that he mailed the letters at 8 a.m. that morning and expected them to be delivered after his sentencing. He said he didn’t want the letters to interfere with his sentencing. He said he sent copies of the letter to several of McCune’s neighbors.

“I’m proud of what I did,” Jones said.

He said the letters contained information he received about loans taken out by the McCunes to attack the judge’s credibility.

“This isn’t over. I don’t want that man to be reelected,” Jones said.

He said he is planning to examine McCune’s election finances and is looking into the assessed value of his house. He said he also obtained the results of McCune’s last retention vote.

Jones said he hoped his action would cause McCune to overreact and give a sentence that was harsher than what was called for so he could file a complaint against him with the Attorney General’s office.

“I wanted to give him more rope to hang himself,” Jones said.

In closing arguments, Cingolani said Jones was protesting because he felt he was treated unfairly, and he didn’t threaten anybody.

“We see this as a free speech protest,” Cingolani said.

Werner said Jones could have sent the letter to the courthouse, but sent copies to McCune and 11 of his neighbors to harass them.

She also pointed out that Jones never complained about McCune to the state’s judicial disciplinary board.