Barrington Hills man gets 18-month probation after threatening judge online
Joel Koskinen admitted to creating a video where he said he would shoot a McHenry County judge in the face.
By Marco Alvarez ·
Joel Koskinen, 36, pleaded guilty Wednesday to threatening a McHenry County judge and Barrington Hills police officers through YouTube videos. The judgment order filed in McHenry County court lists two separate cases of threatening a public official, both Class 3 felonies.
In the June incident, Koskinen created a video threatening to shoot the judge in the face. At that time, he was on pretrial release for a separate June 2025 case involving threats against Barrington Hills police officers. Records indicate he was accused of threatening to shoot and kill those officers.
In each case, the judge sentenced Koskinen to 18 months of felony probation. He must undergo psychiatric treatment and follow all recommendations from his provider. The orders also require him to refrain from alcohol, marijuana, and any narcotics not prescribed by a doctor.
Koskinen received a jail sentence of 180 days, but time served satisfied that portion of the punishment. While on probation, he is prohibited from posting or publishing content on any social media platform. He also cannot have unlawful contact with Barrington Hills police officers or anyone named in the cases.
In the judge threat case, initial charges included harassing and threatening Barrington Hills police and McHenry County courthouse staff. Those additional charges were dismissed. A conflict of interest in the June case led the Illinois Supreme Court to assign a judge from the 23rd Judicial Circuit, which covers DeKalb and Kendall counties, to oversee the proceedings.
