James LeBuhn, 66, of Libertyville has been sentenced to six months in federal prison and fined $5,000 after mailing threatening letters containing photographs of ammunition rounds to federal judges in Texas and Florida. The letters warned the judges to be careful and stated that the level of anger is rising.

A 66-year-old Libertyville man has been sentenced to six months in federal prison for mailing threatening letters to federal judges in Texas and Florida that included photographs of ammunition rounds and a warning that the level of public anger was rising.

James LeBuhn mailed letters to U.S. District Court judges in Amarillo Texas and Fort Pierce Florida according to federal prosecutors.

The letters stated, “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.

LeBuhn mailed the letters for the purpose of making a true threat and knowing the letters would be viewed as such, according to prosecutors.

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

The Charges and Sentence

In March 2026 LeBuhn was charged with two counts of sending threatening communications to federal judges.

He 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.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Richard Rothblatt addressed the significance of the case at sentencing.

“Judges are empowered and entrusted to make difficult and controversial decisions on cases and controversies before them. 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 argued.

The case was investigated by the U.S. Marshals Service, U.S. Secret Service, Federal Protective Service, and the U.S. Attorney’s Offices for the Northern District of Texas and Southern District of Florida.

Libertyville is a north suburb of Chicago in Lake County approximately 35 miles north of downtown Chicago.