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Arizona Man Charged After Allegedly Emailing White House Bomb Threat to Tucson TV Station
Jacob Aaron Hicks, 46, of Tucson, was arrested Wednesday and charged with making an interstate threat to injure after allegedly emailing a local television station a warning of an imminent bomb strike against the White House and other Washington, D.C., locations.
A Tucson, Arizona, man has been arrested and charged with making an interstate threat to injure after he allegedly emailed a local television station a warning of an imminent bombing at the White House and other locations in Washington, D.C., federal officials said.
Jacob Aaron Hicks, 46, was taken into custody Wednesday, according to the U.S. Attorney's Office for the District of Arizona. He made his initial appearance in federal court Thursday.
The criminal complaint alleges that Hicks sent the email to the Tucson station on Sept. 23, claiming there would be an «imminent bomb strike against the White House and other locations in Washington, D.C.» The station alerted law enforcement after receiving the message, prompting an investigation that authorities said led them to identify Hicks as the alleged sender.
Investigators also discovered additional email drafts in the account linked to Hicks, federal officials said. Those drafts, also dated Sept. 23, were addressed to other news organizations and contained similar threats involving the White House and other Washington locations.
U.S. Attorney Timothy Courchaine said the case underscores the importance of treating violent threats seriously and of cooperation between the public and law enforcement. «We must take threats of violence like this one seriously,» Courchaine said in a statement. «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 is leading the investigation, with assistance from the U.S. Secret Service. FBI Phoenix Special Agent in Charge Rebecca Day credited the news station for reporting the threat. «We appreciate the community partner who reported the threat to law enforcement. Cooperation and partnership are essential to protecting the American people,» Day said.
The charge of making an interstate threat to injure carries potential federal penalties, though officials did not release additional details about the evidence or what prompted the alleged messages. The investigation remains active, and the case is expected to proceed through the federal court system in Arizona.
The arrest highlights the role that news organizations and ordinary residents can play in flagging potential threats before they escalate. In this instance, the station's decision to contact authorities set off a chain of events that moved quickly from a local inbox to a federal investigation involving multiple agencies.
Federal officials have not said whether Hicks has an attorney or entered a plea. The U.S. Attorney's Office for the District of Arizona announced the charge but did not provide further comment beyond the statements released by Courchaine and Day.
The case remains under investigation by the FBI and the U.S. Secret Service, and no additional charges have been announced.
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