A Utah man who made threats against Joe Biden was shot and killed by FBI agents on Wednesday, just hours before a visit by the US president to the western state.
The Federal Bureau of Investigation confirmed that a suspect was killed when special agents tried to serve arrest and search warrants at a residence in Provo, a city south of Salt Lake City.
The bureau declined to identify the slain man, saying an investigation was ongoing, but he was named in a complaint filed by federal prosecutors in Utah as Craig Robertson.
According to the complaint, Robertson, who was in his early 70s and described himself as a “MAGA Trumper,” repeatedly threatened Biden and others in posts on social media. “I hear Biden is coming to Utah,” Robertson said in a post this week. “Cleaning the dust off the M24 sniper rifle. “Welcom (sic), buffoon-in-chief!”
In addition to Biden, the complaint said Robertson had also made threats against Vice-President Kamala Harris and US Attorney General Merrick Garland.
“The time is right for a presidential assassination or two,” one post said. “First Joe then Kamala!!!”
He had also threatened to shoot Manhattan district attorney Alvin Bragg, who has filed charges against former president Donald Trump for allegedly paying election-eve hush money to an actress. The complaint also included pictures from social media postings by Robertson of his extensive collection of guns, including a semi-automatic rifle he called a “Democrat eradicator.”
Biden is currently visiting the western United States and is scheduled to fly later Wednesday from Albuquerque, New Mexico, to Salt Lake City. The US Secret Service, which protects the president, said it is “aware of the FBI investigation involving an individual in Utah who has exhibited threats to a Secret Service protectee” but provided no further details.
With a broken window in the background, FBI agents process the home of Craig Robertson who was shot and killed by the FBI in a raid on his home last morning in Provo, Utah. (AFP)
