Robert Anthony Haas Convicted of Threatening Fed, Posting Kill Warnings

Robert Anthony Haas, a 40-year-old man from Ottawa, Ill., was convicted Thursday on all 13 counts after a four-day trial in Chicago federal court for threatening to kill a federal law enforcement officer and posting graphic threats online. The jury found Haas guilty of five counts of threatening to assault or murder a federal official and eight counts of knowingly transmitting in interstate commerce a communication containing a threat to injure another.

The threats began in 2019 when Haas bombarded a federal task force officer with a barrage of menacing text messages and voicemails. In one message, Haas stated, “I’m not afraid to walk out my door in the morning. You should be however considering you support Jewish terrorism and your anti-American [expletive] is going to get you killed.” The officer had interviewed Haas following an FBI probe into disturbing social media posts Haas had made.

During the trial, prosecutors unveiled a pattern of escalating online violence from Haas. On the same social media platform, he posted: “I don’t care if it’s a cop, prosecutor, judge, politician or elite. You try to stop me from telling the truth I will cut every throat in your home. Try me!” These posts were not veiled warnings—they were direct, unfiltered declarations of intent that federal investigators say crossed the line from rhetoric to criminal threat.

Each count of threatening a federal official carries a maximum sentence of ten years in federal prison. The eight counts of interstate transmission of threats each carry up to five years. U.S. District Judge Edmond E. Chang scheduled sentencing for Nov. 3, 2020, leaving Haas to face the full weight of federal retribution for his digital rampage.

The conviction was announced by John R. Lausch, Jr., United States Attorney for the Northern District of Illinois, alongside Emmerson Buie, Jr., Special Agent-in-Charge of the FBI’s Chicago Field Office, and Patrick S. Mills, Special Agent-in-Charge of the U.S. Department of State’s Diplomatic Security Service (DSS) Chicago Field Office. The Illinois State Police and Ottawa, Ill., Police Department provided critical support during the investigation.

Assistant U.S. Attorneys Erin Kelly and Barry Jonas prosecuted the case, weaving together digital evidence, witness testimony, and Haas’s own words to secure a clean sweep at trial. In a city where violence often plays out on streets and sidewalks, this case underscores how dangerous threats now emerge from keyboards and cellphones—with real-world consequences just as deadly.