A Libertyville man has been sentenced to six months in prison for mailing threatening letters to federal district judges appointed by President Donald Trump, telling them to “be careful,” accompanied by photos of ammo.
James Lebuhn, 66, of Libertyville, was charged in the U.S. District Court in Chicago in March with two counts of mailing a threatening communication.
Court documents said Lebuhn mailed letters in March 2025 to U.S. District Court judges in Amarillo, Texas, and Fort Pierce, Florida.
Lebuhn mailed the letters for the purpose of making a “true threat” and knowing that the letters would be viewed as such, court documents say.
Lebuhn also “recklessly disregarded the substantial risk” that others would regard the communications as a threat when mailing the letters, the charges allege.
The letters said, “THE CITIZENS DO NOT LIKE WHAT YOU ARE DOING TO OUR DEMOCRACY. THEY KNOW WHO YOU ARE.”
The language was followed by photographs of two ammunition rounds and the words, “BE CAREFUL. THE LEVEL OF ANGER IS RISING.”
Court documents do not name which judges were targeted but Judge Aileen M. Cannon was the only sitting district judge in the Fort Pierce, Florida, courthouse and Judge Matthew J. Kacsmaryk was the only sitting district judge in the Amarillo, Texas, courthouse.
Both were appointed by U.S. President Donald Trump during his first term in office when he appointed over 230 judges to federal positions.
LeBuhn also mailed similarly threatening letters to employees of the U.S. Office of Personnel Management in Washington, D.C.
The U.S. Marshals Service, the U.S. Secret Service and the Federal Protective Service investigated the case.
LeBuhn pleaded guilty earlier this year to the charges and U.S. District Judge Sara L. Ellis sentenced LeBuhn on Tuesday to six months in federal prison while fining him $5,000.
“Judges are empowered and entrusted to make difficult and controversial decisions on cases and controversies before them,” Assistant U.S. Attorney Richard M. Rothblatt said in a 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,” Rothblatt said.
U.S. Attorney for the Northern District of Illinois Andrew Andrew Boutros previously said his office was committed to holding those accountable who seek to “intimidate and instill fear in members of the federal government.”
“When a threat such as this occurs, our Office will find, arrest, and prosecute those responsible to the fullest extent of the law,” Boutros said.
United States Attorney for the Northern District of Texas Ryan Raybould said that the charges should “serve as a warning” to others contemplating such behavior in “today’s times of increasing threats of violence.”
“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,” Raybould said.