JESUP, Ga. AP – Mirta Blanco plastered the whitewashed wall outside Judge Glenn Thomas Jr.’s law office with handwritten posters telling him “Get Well Soon” and “We Are Keeping You In Our Prayers.”

She’s also been carrying a gun since the 74-year-old Thomas – a lawyer, Recorders Court judge and former district attorney – was found brutally beaten and bleeding at his desk inside his law office Monday.