Suburban Chicago Man Charged With Sending Threatening Letters to Two Federal Judges

CHICAGO - A suburban Chicago man has been charged in federal court with sending threatening letters to federal judges in Texas and Florida.

JAMES LEBUHN, 65, of Libertyville, Ill., is charged with two counts of mailing a threatening communication, according to a criminal information filed in U.S. District Court in Chicago. Arraignment is set for March 26, 2026, at 2:00 p.m. before U.S. District Judge Sara L. Ellis.

According to the information, Lebuhn mailed letters in March of last year to U.S. District Court judges in Amarillo, Texas, and Fort Pierce, Fla. Lebuhn mailed the letters for the purpose of making a true threat and knowing that the letters would be viewed as such, the information states. When mailing the letters, Lebuhn also recklessly disregarded the substantial risk that others would regard the communications as a threat, the charges allege.

The charges were 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, and the Federal Protective Service, with assistance from 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 is represented by Assistant U.S. Attorney Richard M. Rothblatt of the Northern District of Illinois.

"The Chicago U.S. Attorney's Office is committed to holding accountable anyone who seeks to intimidate and instill fear in members of the federal government, including the esteemed public servants on the bench," said U.S. Attorney Boutros. "When a threat such as this occurs, our Office will find, arrest, and prosecute those responsible to the fullest extent of the law. We are grateful for the close collaboration with the U.S. Attorneys' Offices in the Northern District of Texas and Southern District of Florida and the fine work they provided in support of this prosecution."

"In today's times of increasing threats of violence, these criminal charges should serve as a warning to others contemplating such behavior," said Ryan Raybould, United States Attorney for the Northern District of Texas. "I applaud the investigative efforts of our agents in this District and the prosecution team in the Northern District of Illinois for their outstanding work."

The public is reminded that an information is not evidence of guilt. The defendant is presumed innocent and entitled to a fair trial at which the government has the burden of proving guilt beyond a reasonable doubt. Each count in the information is punishable by a maximum sentence of five years in federal prison. If convicted, the Court must impose a reasonable sentence under federal statutes and the advisory U.S. Sentencing Guidelines.