Libertyville man gets 6 months in prison for threatening federal judges with photos of bullets
<p>Soon after sentencing began Tuesday<b> </b>for<b> </b>a<b> </b>north suburban<b> </b>man<b> </b>who<b> </b>threatened<b> </b>two<b> </b>federal<b> </b>judges<b> </b>with letters<b> </b>containing pictures of bullets, it became clear that U.S. District Judge Sara Ellis<b> </b>would not spare him from prison.</p><p>She told James Lebuhn that it’s one thing for an individual<b> </b>to take on the risk and obligation of becoming a judge.
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<p>Soon after sentencing began Tuesday<b> </b>for<b> </b>a<b> </b>north suburban<b> </b>man<b> </b>who<b> </b>threatened<b> </b>two<b> </b>federal<b> </b>judges<b> </b>with letters<b> </b>containing pictures of bullets, it became clear that U.S. District Judge Sara Ellis<b> </b>would not spare him from prison.</p><p>She told James Lebuhn that it’s one thing for an individual<b> </b>to take on the risk and obligation of becoming a judge. It’s another to have to “look your kid in the eye”<b> </b>and say “your home is not safe.”</p><p>So while Lebuhn insisted he’d made a one-time mistake, Ellis said she had “to think about the people that are sitting in front of their computer who are angry and frustrated and feel like they don’t have a voice, and they feel like the world is going in a direction they don’t agree with.”</p><p>Then she gave Lebuhn<b> </b>six months<b> </b>in prison, reminding<b> </b>the<b> </b>66-year-old<b> </b>Libertyville<b> </b>man<b> </b>that<b> </b>“if we allow folks to just do what they want and threaten people in order to get the outcome that they want, that will ruin democracy faster really than anything we can do.”</p><p>The sentencing comes as concern continues to rise about threats to judges, with U.S. Supreme Court Justice Amy<b> </b>Coney<b> </b>Barrett<b> </b>testifying<b> </b>just weeks ago<b> </b>about<b> </b>having to explain to her 12-year-old son<b> </b>why<b> </b>she’d come home<b> </b>with a bullet-proof vest.</p><div class="RelatedList Enhancement" data-module data-align-center> <div class="RelatedList-title">Related</div> <ul class="RelatedList-items"> <li class="RelatedList-items-item"> <a class="Link" href="https://chicago.suntimes.com/immigration/2026/01/20/judge-in-bovino-murder-plot-case-warned-of-threats-to-judges-after-family-members-were-killed-in-2005" >Judge in Bovino murder-plot case warned of threats to judiciary after her family members were killed in 2005</a> </li> </ul> </div> <p>Lebuhn<b> </b>pleaded guilty<b> </b>in March<b> </b>to<b> </b><a class="Link" href="https://chicago.suntimes.com/crime/2026/03/12/libertyville-man-accused-sending-threatening-letters-to-federal-judges" target="_blank" >sending<b> </b>threatening letters</a>, admitting<b> </b>he’d<b> </b>also<b> </b>sent<b> </b>them to<b> </b>employees<b> </b>of the Office of Personnel Management<b> </b>in Washington, D.C.
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- <p>Soon after sentencing began Tuesday<b> </b>for<b> </b>a<b> </b>north suburban<b> </b>man<b> </b>who<b> </b>threatened<b> </b>two<b> </b>federal<b> </b>judges<b> </b>with letters<b> </b>containing pictures of bullets, it became clear that U.S. District Judge Sara Ellis<b> </b>would not spare him from prison.</p><p>She told James Lebuhn that it’s one thing for an individual<b> </b>to take on the risk and obligation of becoming a judge.
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Libertyville man gets 6 months in prison for threatening federal judges with photos of bullets
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