FRANKFORT, Ky. (Sept. 5, 2025) – Attorney General Russell Coleman announced today action from the Attorney General’s Special Prosecutions Unit resulted in a guilty plea from a man charged with making threats against the Rowan County Commonwealth’s Attorney.
On Thursday, Michael Hall, 48, pleaded guilty to one count of Intimidating a Participant in the Legal Process (Class D Felony).
According to charges filed in Rowan Circuit Court, Hall was recorded during a jail phone call in October 2023 making threats directed toward Commonwealth’s Attorney Ashton McKenzie. At the time, McKenzie was prosecuting the defendant for multiple violent offenses, including assault, attempted murder and strangulation. According to court documents, Hall admitted the threats were made to influence the outcome of his case.
Under the terms of a plea agreement, the Commonwealth recommended a two-year prison sentence, to run consecutive to Hall’s sentence in the original case.
“The Office of the Attorney General will protect those fine prosecutors who protect Kentucky families,” Attorney General Coleman said. “There will be zero tolerance for those attempting to tamper with justice and threaten our public servants who administer the rule of law.”
Kentucky State Police investigated the case. Assistant Attorney General Barbara Maines Whaley prosecuted the case on behalf of the Commonwealth.
A picture of Hall is available here.