Man who threatened mass shooting at McKendree University pleads guilty

EAST ST. LOUIS — A McKendree University alumnus accused of threatening a campus mass shooting in 2025 and stalking an employee for years pleaded guilty in federal court on Thursday.

Rustin A. Berkshire, 40, of Vincennes, Indiana, was arrested in September 2025 on charges of interstate communication with a threat to injure and stalking. Assistant U.S. Attorney Alexandria M. Burns told a federal court in East St. Louis that Berkshire had threatened severe injury to students and staff at McKendree University, and had also been stalking and harassing a university staff member since September 2018.

McKendree is a private, liberal-arts college that enrolls about 2,500 students on its campus in Lebanon, Illinois, located roughly 20 miles east of St. Louis. The Illinois State Police, FBI and the Vincennes Police Department in Indiana participated in the investigation.

There were three victims named in the case, Burns said. Two were present at the courthouse this week, though one remained outside the courtroom; the third did not attend the hearing.

‘i want to make you people and your students suffer’

Berkshire had sent messages to one of the victims both by electronic correspondence and through the mail, with two handwritten letters sent directly to one victim’s house. Burns said the correspondence from Berkshire included profanity and referenced feces.

The first handwritten letter, Burns told the court, was a message described as a Valentine’s Day greeting, in which Berkshire wrote “I wiped my ass” with the letter and told the female victim, “I hate your gender.” The second letter sent to the victim’s residence made more serious threats, wishing death upon the victim’s husband and son.

Then, in the early morning hours of Sept. 3, 2025, Berkshire sent a slew of electronic messages to McKendree University threatening a school shooting. The first message was an email to a generic McKendree University account. The message self-identified Berkshire as an alumnus and spoke of his hatred for the institution.

“i want to make you people and your students suffer,” Berkshire wrote, according to an FBI affidavit filed in federal court.

The second email, sent about 45 minutes after the first, went to a McKendree University employee and invoked the prospect of a mass shooting on campus.

“I want to hate mckendree children. [redacted]. i want to be the evil human being that destroys their future. remember me [redacted] as find a grave.com rustin berkshire the evil shooter of mckendree university,” it read, according to court documents.

The third round of threats was sent to McKendree University’s Facebook page in direct messages. These messages explicitly stated a desire to commit a mass shooting and kept repeating the phrase “pain and tears forever.”

McKendree University notified the Illinois State Police of the threats, which increased their presence on campus and directed officers to patrol the premises.

Illinois State Police traced Berkshire to his home in Vincennes, Indiana. The Vincennes Police Department conducted a welfare check on Berkshire on Sept. 3, 2025, during which he stated that he had been intoxicated and that he “might have said some things,” according to court records. But the department reported that he was otherwise in “fine” condition and did not possess firearms.

Berkshire was arrested Sept. 11, 2025, about a week after sending the threatening messages.

A documented history of troubling behavior

In a statement to Capitol News Illinois, McKendree University thanked law enforcement for its actions to protect the campus community.

“McKendree University is aware of the guilty plea in this matter. We appreciate the work of law enforcement and the judicial system in addressing this case,” the university wrote. “The safety and well-being of our students and campus community remain our highest priorities, and we remain committed to maintaining a safe campus environment.”

The supervisor of the staff member who received the direct email threat filed for an order of protection against Berkshire in February 2021. The order remains active in Clinton County.

Even before he threatened McKendree University, Berkshire had a documented history of troubling behavior. According to the Vincennes Police Department Facebook page, he was arrested in August 2021 and charged with stalking and harassment.

“For the past month, the Vincennes Police Department, has been receiving complaints on a male, Rustin Berkshire, harassing and possibly stalking females,” the post stated. “Mr. Berkshire had been harassing ex co-workers and local business owners.”

He was convicted of stalking in Knox County, Indiana, in October 2021.

In January 2023, Berkshire filed a complaint against the Vincennes Police Department for an unspecified reason relating to a civil rights deprivation. The case was ultimately dismissed when Berkshire failed to state a sufficient claim.

Berkshire could be sentenced to up to five years in prison, a maximum of $250,000 in fines, and up to three years of supervised release following time served in prison, and a guaranteed $100 in special assessments for each of the two federal courts to which he pleaded guilty on Thursday.

In his plea, Berkshire waived his right to appeal the case and accepted three years of supervised release following his prison sentence. The length of that sentence will be determined by a judge on Dec. 10. He remains in custody pending his sentencing hearing.

Capitol News Illinois is a nonprofit, nonpartisan news service that distributes state government coverage to hundreds of news outlets statewide. It is funded primarily by the Illinois Press Foundation and the Robert R. McCormick Foundation.