A federal inmate has been sentenced to an additional seven years in prison for threatening a U.S. Probation officer in Chicago. Glenn Bowden, who was already serving a nine-year sentence for robbery, mailed a letter in 2023 threatening the officer who had conducted his presentence investigation.
Bowden also authored a letter, purportedly from his prison chaplain, to support a motion for compassionate release. The chaplain was unaware of this letter. When questioned by the FBI, Bowden falsely denied sending the threatening communication and claimed ignorance about the chaplain’s letter.
Bowden, aged 64 and from Riverdale, Illinois, pleaded guilty last year to mailing a threatening communication, obstructing an official proceeding, and making false statements to the FBI. U.S. District Judge Martha M. Pacold sentenced him to seven years and three months in prison on Tuesday. This sentence will be served consecutively after his current term for robbery.
The sentencing was announced by Andrew S. Boutros, United States Attorney for the Northern District of Illinois; Douglas S. DePodesta, Special Agent-in-Charge of the Chicago Field Office of the FBI; and LaDon A. Reynolds, United States Marshal for the Northern District of Illinois. The Federal Bureau of Prisons provided assistance in this case.
“Threats against Court personnel and other federal staff have no place in our system of justice,” said U.S. Attorney Boutros. “The sentence that the Court imposed in this case should send a clear message that such reprehensible conduct will be met with harsh punishment.”
“Threatening to assault federal personnel is a grave offense that risks the safety of all those who selflessly choose to protect and serve our communities,” said FBI SAC DePodesta. “Any attempt to elicit violence against the federal workforce will be met with swift and full action by our dedicated law enforcement and prosecutorial partners.”
