Suburban Chicago Man Sentenced to Six Months in Federal Prison for Sending Threatening Letters to Two Federal Judges

CHICAGO - A suburban Chicago man has been sentenced to six months in federal prison for sending threatening letters to federal judges in Texas and Florida.

Last year, JAMES LEBUHN mailed letters to U.S. District Court judges in Amarillo, Texas, and Fort Pierce, Fla. The letters stated, "THE CITIZENS DO NOT LIKE WHAT YOU ARE DOING TO OUR DEMOCRACY. THEY KNOW WHO YOU ARE." This language was followed by photographs of two ammunition rounds and the words, "BE CAREFUL. THE LEVEL OF ANGER IS RISING." LeBuhn mailed the letters for the purpose of making a true threat and knowing that the letters would be viewed as such. In March 2026, Lebuhn was charged by criminal information with two counts of sending threatening communications to federal judges in Texas and Florida in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 876(c).

LeBuhn also mailed similarly threatening letters to employees of the U.S. Office of Personnel Management in Washington, D.C.

LeBuhn, 66, of Libertyville, Ill., pleaded guilty earlier this year in U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois to two counts of mailing a threatening communication. On Tuesday, U.S. District Judge Sara L. Ellis sentenced LeBuhn to six months in federal prison and fined him $5,000.

The sentence was announced by Andrew S. Boutros, United States Attorney for the Northern District of Illinois. The case was investigated by the U.S. Marshals Service, the U.S. Secret Service, the Federal Protective Service, the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Northern District of Texas, and the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Southern District of Florida. The government was represented by Assistant U.S. Attorney Richard M. Rothblatt of the Northern District of Illinois, with assistance from Assistant U.S. Attorney Matthew Weybrecht of the Northern District of Texas and Assistant U.S. Attorney Brian Dobbins of the Southern District of Florida.

"Judges are empowered and entrusted to make difficult and controversial decisions on cases and controversies before them," Assistant U.S. Attorney Richard M. Rothblatt argued in the government's sentencing memorandum. "The public may vehemently disagree with those decisions, and there are myriad ways for individuals to communicate such disagreement under the First Amendment. True threats of violence, and the fear and disruption they cause, have consequences and will not be tolerated."