BEAUMONT, Texas (AP) - An inmate at a Southeast Texas prison has pleaded guilty to writing a letter threatening President Barack Obama and his family.

A federal judge in Beaumont on Wednesday accepted the plea from 26-year-old Joseph Scott Sword of Cooper. No sentencing date was immediately set for the Stiles Unit inmate, who faces up to five years in federal prison for making threats against the president.

Prosecutors say Sword in May wrote a letter from the prison in Beaumont saying he belonged to a violent gang and that the Obamas were being watched by fellow members on the street. Authorities did not immediately release additional details of the investigation.

Sword, who was indicted in July, is serving time for robbery and burglary in Hunt and Hopkins counties.

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