Arizona man accused of making mass bomb threat against White House, other D.C. targets

Authorities arrested an Arizona man accused of making multiple threats to bomb the White House and the Washington, D.C., area.

The Wednesday arrest of 46-year-old Jacob Aaron Hicks came after he allegedly emailed a Tucson news station on Sept. 23 that there would be an imminent bomb strike, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Arizona.

The news station contacted law enforcement, who identified Hicks as the suspected sender, prosecutors said.

Tucson man accused of threatening mass bomb strike

During their investigation, law enforcement found draft emails addressed to other news agencies with similar threats to the White House and surrounding areas.

Rebecca Day, FBI Phoenix special agent in charge, said violent threats like this must be taken seriously.

“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,” Day said in a Thursday announcement from prosecutors.

Hicks was charged by criminal complaint with making an interstate threat to injure.

He made his first appearance in federal court on Thursday.

Subscribe to the KTAR Political Brief newsletter to get our top political stories, exclusive guest interviews and more to your email inbox.

Related

Bernadette Greene-Placentia, congressional candidate, recounts sexual assaultSen. Ruben Gallego says ASU should have fired hockey coach after workout injured playerCan Maricopa County change — or completely dump — third-party election vendors?Maricopa County official says recorder’s mail ballot claims reflect ‘pattern’ of failing to tell truthWhat’s on your ballot: Prop 320 would force certain schools to spend more in classroomsAmish Shah says he would find ways to work with Trump administration if elected