Rustin Berkshire Guilty Plea: What the McKendree File Shows

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Rustin Berkshire guilty plea: what the McKendree file shows. Rustin Berkshire, 40, of Vincennes, Indiana, pleaded guilty on Oct. 8, 2026, in federal court in East St. Louis to interstate communication with a threat to injure and to stalking, over messages sent to McKendree University in Lebanon, Illinois, on Sept. 3, 2025, that threatened a school shooting. No one was reported injured. He has not been sentenced; sentencing is set for Dec. 10, 2026. Behind the headline, the court record shows a documented history: a 2021 stalking conviction, an order of protection held by a McKendree employee, and, prosecutors say, harassment of a university staff member going back to 2018.

What's confirmed

The FBI, Illinois State Police and the Vincennes Police Department investigated (Capitol News Illinois). McKendree said the safety of its students and campus community remains its highest priority (statement via Capitol News Illinois / NPR Illinois).

1. Sept. 2018a federal prosecutor told the court Berkshire had been stalking and harassing a McKendree staff member since September 2018. (Capitol News Illinois, account given at the plea hearing)
2. Feb. 2021a McKendree employee filed for an order of protection against him in Clinton County, Illinois; it remains active. (Federal complaint, para. 10; Capitol News Illinois)
3. Oct. 20, 2021convicted of stalking in Knox County, Indiana. (Federal complaint, para. 11; Capitol News Illinois)
4. Sept. 3, 2025, about 12:59 a.m.an email to a general McKendree inbox said, as printed in the complaint, "i want to make you people and your students suffer." About 45 minutes later, a second email went to a staff member; private messages followed on the university's Facebook page. (Federal complaint, paras. 3-7; Capitol News Illinois)
5. Sept. 3, 2025McKendree Public Safety notified Illinois State Police, which sent additional officers to patrol campus. Vincennes police did a welfare check; according to the FBI agent's sworn statement, he said he "had a few drinks and might have said some things." (Federal complaint, paras. 8-9)
6. Sept. 9, 2025a federal criminal complaint was filed in the Southern District of Illinois charging one count of interstate communication with a threat to injure (18 U.S.C. 875(c)). (Federal complaint, Doc. 1)
7. Oct. 8, 2026pleaded guilty to interstate communication with a threat to injure and to stalking. According to Capitol News Illinois, he waived his right to appeal and remains in custody until sentencing. (Capitol News Illinois, Oct. 9, 2026, reporting a plea "on Thursday")

What we don't know

• The sentence. The judge decides on Dec. 10, 2026.
• Why. Prosecutors and the university have not stated a motive, and we do not speculate.

What happens next

Sentencing is set for Dec. 10, 2026. He faces up to five years in prison, a fine of up to $250,000 and up to three years of supervised release (Capitol News Illinois; the statutory maximum under 18 U.S.C. 875(c) is five years). We will post a dated UPDATE after sentencing.

The staff member and other affected people are not named. The quoted line is the only message text we use.

Chapters

1. 0:00McKendree shooting threat: what he sent
2. 1:21Rustin Berkshire guilty plea: the court record
3. 1:38Rustin Berkshire's stalking record
4. 2:21Rustin Berkshire sentencing: where it stands

Sources

1. U.S. District Court, S.D. Ill., United States v. Berkshire, No. 3:25-cr-30127, criminal complaint (Doc. 1, filed Sept. 9, 2025), via CourtListener Primary recordstorage.courtlistener.com/recap/gov.uscourts.ilsd.106690/gov.uscourts.ilsd.106690.1.0.pdf
2. Docket Primary recordcourtlistener.com/docket/106690/
3. Capitol News Illinois (Penny Bordewick and SI Source), Oct. 9, 2026 Reportingcapitolnewsillinois.com/news/man-who-threatened-mass-shooting-at-mckendree-university-pleads-guilty/
4. NPR Illinois (Capitol News Illinois story), Oct. 9, 2026 Reportingnprillinois.org/illinois/2026-10-09/man-who-threatened-mass-shooting-at-mckendree-university-pleads-guilty
5. ABC7 Chicago (Capitol News Illinois story), Oct. 9, 2026 Reportingabc7chicago.com/post/vincennes-man-rustin-berkshire-threatened-mass-shooting-mckendree-university-lebanon-il-pleads-guilty/19925514/

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