A flag waving outside the James A. Byrne Federal Courthouse in Philadelphia. Read more THOMAS HENGGE / Staff Photographer

by Chris Palmer Published Dec. 3, 2025, 12:06 p.m. ET

As U.S. District Judge Gerald McHugh prepared to sentence Mark Anthony Tucci for hurling racist, violent threats at two Black women he’d never met, the judge paused for a moment and teared up.

Tucci’s vile language and promises to harm the women were not only criminally inexcusable, McHugh said, they were also a demonstration of “deeply hateful attitudes” that cannot be tolerated in society.

“It was meant to deny their dignity and their humanity,” McHugh said. “And that’s what makes it so troublesome.”

McHugh offered those remarks before sentencing Tucci on Tuesday to 33 months in federal prison and o

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