What You Need to Know:
A Utah man, identified as Craig Robertson, was shot and killed as FBI agents attempted to serve an arrest and search warrant in connection to threats made online against President Joe Biden ahead of his visit to the state.
Lead Up:
The suspect was identified as Craig Robertson of Provo, Utah. Officials told ABC News that Robertson first came onto the radar of authorities in April over repeated threats made against Biden, other government officials, and federal agents on Facebook.
On Monday, ahead of Biden’s visit to Utah, Robertson made a series of Facebook posts saying that “I HEAR BIDEN IS COMING TO UTAH. DIGGING OUT MY OLD GHILLIE SUIT AND CLEANING THE DUST OFF THE M24 SNIPER RIFLE. WELCOME, BUFFOON-IN-CHIEF!”
He later posted on Facebook that “Perhaps Utah will become famous this week as the place a sniper took out Biden the Marxist” and that “In my dream I see Joe Biden’s body in a dark corner of a DC garage with his head severed and lying in a huge puddle of blood. Hoorah!!!”
Craig Robertson, from Provo, UT, was killed today by the FBI during a raid after he made threats against Biden. Here are some of his recent Facebook posts — all just in the last two days.https://t.co/j3Lpn2TKfI pic.twitter.com/0BhZo3VM9e
— Aric Toler (@AricToler) August 9, 2023
Charges:
The posts were deemed by the FBI as “credible,” resulting in Robertson being charged with making interstate threats, threats against the president, and influencing, impeding and retaliating against federal law enforcement officers by threat.
An arrest and search warrant was then issued and executed on at about 6:00am local time. The FBI has not released information on what lead to the shooting, which is now under review by the department’s Inspection Division.