In August 2023, Luke Wenke was found guilty of the first of several probation violation charges that he would accrue within months of his release from federal prison. Just six weeks after regaining his freedom, prosecutors had accused Wenke of sending a harassing email to his cyberstalking victim’s business partner in violation of a condition banning all forms of contacting (including indirect contact).
The scathing email (the second document featured in this article, “59-2: Exhibit B”) blames Wenke’s cyberstalking victim (Victim 1) and Victim 1’s business partner — both of whom are Minneapolis-based criminal defence attorneys — for Wenke’s felony conviction and prison sentence. Wenke also blames the email’s recipient and Victim 1 of keeping him apart from his romantic obsession, Ryan, who they had represented in a federal terrorism case.
The following documents consist of the U.S. Government’s sentencing memorandum urging the court to send Luke Wenke back to federal prison for 12 months followed by several exhibits, including the email Wenke was accused of sending to Victim-1’s business partner (titled “George Floyd is dead and that’s a good thing”) and screenshots of some social media posts that prosecutors found concerning.
Note: The collection of documents also consists of a letter Luke Wenke sent to a victim from jail in violation of a protective order. To read it, click here.
“Like a prelude to a violent crime…”
The following memorandum (Court Document #59) explains the government’s position: that Luke Wenke was not reformed and needed more prison time to prevent future reoffending. More specifically, the prosecution emphasized how Luke Wenke continued contacting victims he was banned from interacting with — even from jail while detained for similar actions.
USA v. Luke Wenke – 07/28/2023
Sentencing Memorandum
CASE #1:22-cr-00035, DOCKET ENTRY #59
To see the email Luke Wenke was accused of sending to Victim 1’s business partner, scroll past the memorandum. 🙂
USA v. Luke Wenke – Sentencing Memorandum – Doc. #59Prosecution: “We Were Wrong” About Luke Wenke
As the above document shows, Assistant United States Attorney David Rudroff was adamant that Luke Wenke needed to return to prison in order to learn his lesson. To support this position, the prosecution submitted the following exhibits to accompany its Sentencing Memorandum.
#59-2: Exhibit B
Wenke’s Email to Victim 1’s Business Partner
Warning: The following document contains racist and derogatory statements and slang. I neither condone nor support this type of language or the views they connotate, but I did not obscure the words from this letter because I think it’s important for people to see Luke Wenke for the type of person he really is.
USA v. Luke Wenke – Document #59-2Luke Wenke: Sentenced to Time Served
During the proceedings for Luke Wenke’s first federal probation violation charge, the prosecution argued that Wenke had violated the terms of his supervision by indirectly contacting Victim 1’s business partner. Wenke denied sending the email, which was sent through an encrypted service, and his public defenders pointed out that there was no way to prove that he had sent it.
After hearing arguments from both parties regarding what should be considered “indirect contact,” Judge Sinatra found Luke Wenke guilty of the violation charge and sentenced him to time served while extending his probation period to 34 months. Wenke was also ordered to abide by standard conditions of supervision along with some rules and requirements tailored to his case, including a mental health evaluation and treatment, mandatory anger management, and a drug and alcohol abuse assessment and any recommended treatment.
Perhaps most importantly, the judge continued the existing condition banning Luke Wenke from contacting or going near Victim 1.
Rudroff: No Longer On the Case
For reasons that are unknown to me, Mr. Rudroff stopped participating in Luke Wenke’s criminal case in late 2023. I don’t know if it was his decision to step down or if the judge ordered it, but he was removed from the case after Wenke targeted him in a series of vile social media posts containing wild (and presumably untrue) allegations.
To this day, I believe that Assistant U.S. Attorney David Rudroff was the strongest prosecutor to work Luke Wenke’s case. He straightforwardly and plainly laid out his argument for why he believed Luke Wenke deserved to go back to prison for violating probation, even admitting that he had been wrong for advocating for leniency earlier on in the case. Moreover, Rudroff didn’t hesitate to explicitly state that he thought Wenke deserved to be locked up in the first place, unlike subsequent U.S. attorneys who seemed to beat around the bush whenever they urged the judge to revoke Wenke’s freedom.
Categories: Court documents: sentencing memorandums; obsessions, social media posts
Tags: Buffalo, NY; Capitol Riot, conditions of supervision, [alleged] contact ban violations, Daniel Christmann, NY Assemblyman David DiPietro, Assistant U.S. Attorney David Rudroff, Facebook, George Floyd, Hamas, indirect contact, Libertarian Party, Minneapolis, Minnesota, orders of protection, probation violations, [alleged] protective order violations, psychiatric evaluations, [alleged] racism, resistance to mental health treatment, screenshots, unwanted contact, Victim 1, X/Twitter