Minnesota Court of Appeals overturns Rochester man’s conviction for threatening to kill others online

ROCHESTER — A Rochester man convicted last year of felony threats of violence will see his court case reopened after the Minnesota Court of Appeals overturned his conviction Monday.

Kyle Ketterling, 63, was sentenced in June 2023 to five years of probation after federal officials uncovered threatening posts he made in April and May 2022 on a conservative-leaning website called Gettr. Ketterling was charged with four counts of threats of violence and convicted on three of those charges.

According to court records, one of the charges stemmed from Ketterling’s post about threatening to kill members of the “deep state.” Other posts called for killing Muslims, various government officials, Democratic party leaders and even police if they tried to take his guns. He also advocated for revolutionary war and said he would join Russia’s side if it and the U.S. ever went to war.

“Some of my neighbors and I have a pact. If the government comes for any of us, the rest will unload on the government … from every direction,” Ketterling wrote in a post, according to a criminal complaint. “They better bring a small army just for us.”

Court documents show he argued his posts were protected political speech, and prosecutors lacked evidence he would carry out his threats, but the court disagreed.

In its decision, a three-judge appeals court panel noted most of Ketterling’s posts were political in nature. And at least one — the “deep state” post — was constitutionally protected speech because the “deep state” is a conspiracy theory at best, not a definable person or group of people.

“It is unclear what individuals, or group of individuals, if any, would fear violence as a result of this particular politically laden threat,” Judge Lucinda Jesson wrote in the panel’s decision.

Rochester police had prior exchanges with Ketterling, according to court records. Ketterling had emailed threatening messages in the past to local school board members as well as a local TV news station.

Police were concerned Ketterling would make good on his threats, including a threat to a social worker who had asked him about the posts. Court records show officers searched Ketterling’s home and found several handguns, a shotgun and four boxes of 9mm ammunition.

The appeals panel did not weigh arguments against the other two counts, instead sending Ketterling’s case back to district court.