Arizona Man Charged After Threatening to Bomb White House
Arizona man charged after allegedly threatening to bomb the White House, with investigators finding additional threats in email drafts.
A Tucson, Arizona, man has been federally charged after allegedly threatening to bomb the White House and multiple other locations in Washington, D.C., with more unsent threats found waiting in his email drafts.
Jacob Aaron Hicks, 46, was arrested Wednesday, October 7, and charged with making an interstate threat to injure. He appeared in federal court the following day. The Justice Department (DOJ) announced the charge Thursday.
The trouble began September 23, when a Tucson television station received an email warning of an imminent bombing at the White House and other sites around the nation’s capital.
One passage was particularly charming:
“You Americans will pay. Allah, to Allah.”
The station reported the email to authorities rather than dismissing it as another crank message. The FBI opened an investigation and eventually traced the alleged threat to Hicks.
And that was apparently not the only message.
Federal investigators found additional drafts in the same email account, also dated September 23. They were addressed to other news organizations and carried similar threats against Washington, D.C. None of those additional messages had been sent, according to prosecutors.
Hicks also allegedly made threats closer to home.
Local reporting described an earlier text message in which Hicks claimed he had access to anthrax that could be used against Tucson and C4 explosives for an attack on a federal building. The allegations went well beyond the White House.
When questioned about the threatening email, Hicks reportedly offered an explanation: he had loaned his phone to a homeless person when the message was sent.
An interesting defense. Federal investigators evidently were not persuaded.
U.S. Attorney Timothy Courchaine credited the television station for contacting authorities and the FBI for its response.
“We must take threats of violence like this one seriously. I am grateful to our local news station for referring this threat to law enforcement, and to the FBI for addressing the situation quickly, professionally, and with the level of commitment it required.”
The FBI’s Phoenix office is leading the investigation, with assistance from the Secret Service. Federal prosecutors in Tucson are handling the case.
A White House connection also exists beyond the alleged target.
The Justice Department says the prosecution falls under National Security Presidential Memorandum 7, the Trump administration’s initiative aimed at combating political violence while protecting First Amendment rights.
The effort brings federal, state, and local authorities together under Joint Task Force Vanguard, which handles investigations and prosecutions involving politically motivated violence.
FBI Phoenix Special Agent in Charge Rebecca Day addressed the investigation:
“The FBI remains steadfast in its mission to defend the United States against criminal and national security threats and will investigate them to the fullest extent of the law. We appreciate the community partner who reported the threat to law enforcement.”
Authorities have not publicly identified a motive. The religious language in the alleged email is documented, but investigators have not established whether Hicks had any ideological or organizational affiliation.
Nor has the Justice Department reported finding explosives or evidence that an actual bombing was attempted.
For now, the federal case concerns the threats themselves. Hicks remains presumed innocent unless proven guilty.
Whatever explanation eventually emerges, threatening to bomb the White House, invoking Allah, and allegedly discussing anthrax and C4 is a reliable way to end up in federal court.
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Comments
Lock him up and throw away the key.
Lock up those who fed him lies, and throw away the key.
No picture, no racial comments.
We are seeing this sort of thing more and more often, and always coming from leftists, communists and Islamists.
Make no mistake, there will be war. Prepare accordingly.
“You Americans will pay. Allah, to Allah.”
“Jacob Aaron Hicks” is certainly an unusual Muslim name.
“…rather than dismissing it as another crank message.”
‘Another’. Apparently, this is frequent enough to warrant such a statement, so what flagged this as a credible threat by this news station to pass along to the FBI, and not simply a crank to be ignored?
Maybe it was the numerous red flags Ben listed in his last paragraph. Maybe it was a hunch, or maybe it was Monday.
So… can politicians be charged with making an interstate threat to injure if they advocate for baby murder?
Unfortunately, it would seem that there is a reason that politicians are immune to most prosecutions for that kind of thing. I remember reading about it once a while back, but can’t for the life of me remember why. I think however there should be some adjustments in the laws about that, which would open them up so some closer scruteny, and possibly arrest, or at least removal from office under the right circumstances.
Definitely no religious intentions or motivations, I mean we all mention Allah when threatening to blow stuff up. It’s just totes normal.
Maybe. Or maybe he was just throwing out chaff.
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