A judge sentenced a Chicago man to eight years in prison for threatening a “military precision” mass shooting at the Lake County Courthouse in Waukegan, his second conviction for the same offense.
The Lake County Sheriff’s Office became aware on June 14, 2024, that a man on Chicago’s Riverwalk passed a note to a security guard working at a restaurant on the Riverwalk.
The note indicated there would be a mass shooting with military precision at the Lake County courthouse, Lake County Sheriff’s Office Deputy Chief Christopher Covelli previously said.
The note also made threatening remarks directed at a Lake County judge and a Chicago police officer assigned as a task force officer to the FBI, Covelli said.
Lake County Assistant State’s Attorney Lindsay Hicks said the note mentioned Courtroom 103, which at the time was the courtroom of Lake County Judge Michael Nerheim.
Nerheim is the judge who handled a family case involving Pederson, Hicks said.
Pederson previously threatened the judge when he was the state’s attorney, Hicks said.
The man returned to the Riverwalk on June 27, 2024, and was spotted by the security guard he had previously passed the note to, Covelli said.
The security guard contacted the Chicago Police Department and the FBI. The man was located and taken into custody.
Covelli said he was identified as Daniel B. Pederson, 43, of Chicago.
Lake County sheriff’s detectives worked with the Lake County State’s Attorney’s Office and obtained an arrest warrant for Pederson for one count of threatening a public official, a Class 3 felony.
The charge of intimidation by physical harm, a Class 3 felony, was later filed against Pederson and the threatening a public official charge was dismissed.
During an initial court hearing, Pederson began swearing at Lake County Judge Stacey Seneczko after he was brought into the courtroom, which led to deputies promptly escorting him out of the courtroom and back to the jail.
Lake County Assistant State’s Attorney Dino Katris said during a detention hearing that Pederson has an established history of threatening the public and officials.
“This defendant is dangerous. He is mentally unstable, has homicidal ideations, mass killing ideations and is fixated on Honorable Michael Nerheim and this courthouse,” Katris argued.
An out-of-county judge was requested to oversee the case and Pederson was ordered held in the Lake County Jail pending trial.
The judge said the content of the threatening note made it clear what Pederson’s intentions were and that no conditions of release would prevent the man from committing new threats or acting on the threats based on his history.
A two-and-a-half-day bench trial overseen by the Kane County judge was held in April, with the judge finding Pederson guilty on April 16.
The charge carries two to 10 years in the Illinois Department of Corrections and on Wednesday, Pederson was sentenced to eight years in prison.
In 2014, Pederson was arrested for calling a state agency and saying he was going to kill people and light up the Lake County Courthouse and Gurnee Police Department.
He was later convicted in that case and sentenced to six years in prison in 2018 for threatening terrorist action. Pederson also has convictions for violating an order of protection and harassment by telephone.