On Wednesday, a man who had posted violent threats against President Joe Biden and other officials online was fatally shot during an FBI raid.
FBI agents were executing an arrest warrant on Craig Robertson at his residence in Utah, mere hours before President Biden’s scheduled visit to the state.
A criminal complaint detailed Robertson’s threats, which he posted on Facebook, targeting President Biden and a prosecutor involved in pursuing criminal charges against Donald Trump.
The FBI chose not to disclose further information regarding the incident.
The raid took place at approximately 06:15 local time in Provo, situated about 40 miles (65 km) south of Salt Lake City.
The criminal complaint highlighted messages posted by Robertson on Facebook, including images of firearms and explicit threats to harm President Biden and Alvin Bragg, the Manhattan district attorney heading an investigation into a hush-money payment made by Mr. Trump to an adult film star.
The complaint also indicated that other messages were aimed at US Attorney General Merrick Garland and New York Attorney General Letitia James.
On Facebook, Robertson wrote: “I hear Biden is coming to Utah. Digging out my old ghillie suit and cleaning the dust off the M24 sniper rifle.”
This statement was just one of numerous violent messages and photographs of weapons shared across two of Robertson’s Facebook accounts.
The complaint revealed that federal agents first became aware of Robertson’s actions in March, after he posted a threat against Mr. Bragg on Truth Social, a social network owned by Donald Trump. The company alerted the FBI’s National Threat Operations Center.
Subsequently, FBI agents visited Robertson, who dismissed the post as a “dream.” He concluded the interaction by stating: “We’re done here! Don’t return without a warrant!”
Despite this encounter, Robertson continued posting messages that referenced the agents’ visit, displayed him dressed in sniper camouflage, and repeatedly made threats against public officials.
These messages persisted until as recently as Tuesday when he posted: “Perhaps Utah will become famous this week as the place a sniper took out Biden the Marxist.”
President Biden is set to undertake his inaugural visit to Utah as president on Thursday. His itinerary includes a visit to a veterans’ hospital and a fundraising event in Park City.
