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Press Release

Mailing Threatening Letters Leads to New Charges for Federal Inmate

For Immediate Release
U.S. Attorney's Office, Southern District of Illinois

 

A federal grand jury has returned an indictment charging Jonathan Wade Bohn, 43, of West Frankfort, Illinois, in the October 2014 mailing of two threatening letters to officials in Franklin County, Illinois.

The indictment alleges that Bohn was incarcerated at the Federal Correctional Center in Allenwood, Pennsylvania, when he sent a letter threatening to kill certain Franklin County law enforcement officers and officials. Two weeks later, Bohn allegedly sent another threatening letter, this time to the Franklin County clerk of court, claiming there was a bomb inside a Franklin County school that would detonate the following day. This second letter caused the closing of nine public schools, affecting over 6,400 students.

Mailing a threatening communication carries a maximum possible sentence of 5 years imprisonment. Threatening to use an explosive device is punishable by as much as 10 years in prison. If convicted, Bohn also faces a fine of up to $250,000 and 3 years of supervised release on each count.

An indictment is a formal charge against a defendant. Under the law, a defendant is presumed to be innocent of a charge until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt to the satisfaction of a jury.

According to the Bureau of Prisons website, Bohn is now being housed at a high-security facility in Florida and is currently scheduled for release in August 2022.

The investigation was conducted by the FBI and the Benton, Illinois Police Department. The case is being prosecuted in the Southern District of Illinois by Assistant United States Attorney Ranley R. Killian.

Updated June 23, 2019

Topic
Violent Crime