Utah Man Who Allegedly Threatened Biden Killed in FBI Search

The FBI fatally shot a Utah man accused of threatening President Biden as agents attempted to serve arrest and search warrants at a home in Provo, hours before the president was set to land in the state.

Federal Bureau of Investigation special agents went to the home Wednesday morning, the agency said. The man, Craig Robertson, was armed, according to a law-enforcement official.

Biden was scheduled to arrive in Salt Lake City, which is about 45 miles from Provo, later in the day.

The FBI said it was investigating the shooting. It declined to provide further details, citing the review.

A felony complaint filed in the U.S. District Court in Utah against Robertson alleges he “did knowingly and willfully make a threat to take the life of and to inflict bodily harm upon the President of the United States.”

The complaint alleges that in early August, Robertson wrote on social media, “I hear Biden is coming to Utah. Digging out of my old Ghille [sic] suit and cleaning the dust off the M24 sniper rifle.” 

Robertson made several posts on social media calling for the assassination of the president, as well as Vice President Kamala Harris and others, including Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg. Bragg, the complaint said. Bragg, a Democrat, is prosecuting former President Donald Trump for allegedly participating in a scheme to pay hush money to suppress potentially damaging sexual allegations, which he denied, on the eve of the 2016 election. Trump has pleaded not guilty.

In March, Robertson allegedly wrote on social media that he was heading to New York to “fulfill my dream” of killing Bragg. “I’ll be waiting in the courthouse parking garage with my suppressed Smith & Wesson M&P 9 mm to smoke a radical fool prosecutor that should never have been elected,” he wrote, according to the complaint. 

A lawyer for Robertson couldn’t immediately be determined.

Robertson also allegedly made posts threatening violence toward FBI agents. In a post criticizing Attorney General Merrick Garland, he wrote, “Why are your FBI cowards not kicking in my door? Know this ‘they will die,’” the complaint said. 

The president was briefed on the incident by senior staff this morning, according to a White House official.

Biden is scheduled to deliver remarks Thursday at a Salt Lake City medical center on the first anniversary of a bill he signed to expand healthcare and other benefits to veterans. Known as the PACT Act, the law was aimed particularly at those exposed to noxious chemicals in the line of duty who now suffer from a range of health issues.

—Suryatapa Bhattacharya and Sabrina Siddiqui contributed to this article.

Write to Talal Ansari at [email protected] and Sadie Gurman at [email protected]