A Michigan man has been found guilty of threatening to kill former Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot in 2022, following a racist and violent message he sent demanding that she reduce crime in the city.
William Kohles, 44, of Grand Rapids, was convicted Thursday of two counts of threatening a public official. The verdict followed a bench trial held last month at the Leighton Criminal Courthouse in Chicago.
Prosecutors said Kohles submitted a threat through the city’s official website in September 2022. The message included graphic and profane language, warning Lightfoot, “I have a bullet with your name on it… I will turn around and shoot your f*****g Black ass myself,” according to court records.
Lightfoot testified during the trial, and following the conviction, said she was “relieved and grateful.” In a statement, she condemned the threat as “direct, vile and replete with racist and misogynistic language.”
“He wanted to cause me to be afraid, to worry about the safety of myself and my family,” Lightfoot said. “The verdict is a relief, but it doesn’t erase the fact that way too many others of his ilk think it is open season to threaten the lives of those in public service. This has to stop.”
Kohles faces up to five years in prison for each count. A sentencing date has not yet been set.
From California to Alaska, recent federal cases highlight a troubling national trend of politically motivated threats, reinforcing concerns about the safety of elected leaders and the broader implications for American democracy.
“The agency’s threat division investigated 9,474 concerning statements or direct threats against members of Congress in 2024, a sharp increase from the 8,008 cases investigated in 2023, according to a CBS News report. “The 2024 number is nearly three times higher than the number of threats investigated in 2017. And other than 2021, it the largest number for a single year on record for the U.S. Capitol Police.”
