BENTON — A West Frankfort man is facing new charges after a federal grand jury returned an indictment charging him with mailing threatening letters to Franklin County officials.

43-year-old Johnathan Wade Bohn is accused of sending a letter threatening to kill certain Franklin County law enforcement officers and officials in October of 2014. Two weeks later, Bohn allegedly sent another threatening letter to the Franklin County clerk of court claiming there was a bomb in a school in the county that would detonate the next day. The second letter caused the closing of nine public schools across the county, affecting over six thousand 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.