Tucson man arrested over White House bombing threat

Summarised from 2 outlets · Updated 9 Oct, 01:55 · Archive

A 46-year-old Tucson man was arrested after sending an email threatening to bomb the White House and release anthrax.

Jacob Aaron Hicks, a 46-year-old from Tucson, Arizona, was arrested on 7 October and charged with making an interstate threat to injure. He sent an email on 23 September to a Tucson news outlet, which immediately reported it to authorities, in which he claimed he would commit a mass bombing.

The email included the statement 'You Americans will pay. Allah, to Allah.' In an earlier text message, Hicks mentioned having access to anthrax to destroy Tucson and C4 to target a federal building. The Department of Justice said the email threatened to bomb the White House and release anthrax across Tucson.

Investigators discovered that Hicks had drafted similar emails and planned to send them to other news outlets across the country. He made his first appearance in federal court on 8 October. Hicks claimed he had loaned his phone to a homeless person when the email was sent, suggesting he was not responsible for the threat.

United States Attorney Timothy Courchaine said authorities must take threats of violence seriously and praised the local news station for reporting the threat to law enforcement and the FBI for responding quickly and professionally.

How it is being reported

• DOJ: Tucson man threatened to bomb White HouseJacob Aaron Hicks was arrested on a charge of making an interstate threat to injure on Wednesday, Oct. 7.Azfamily · 9 Oct, 00:45
• DOJ: Tucson man threatened to bomb White HouseJacob Aaron Hicks was arrested on a charge of making an interstate threat to injure on Wednesday, Oct. 7.KOLD · 8 Oct, 23:31

In this story: Jacob Aaron Hicks · White House · Tucson · Department of Justice · FBI · Timothy Courchaine

This summary was written by AI from the headlines and standfirsts above, and states as fact only what at least two outlets report. How we use AI · Report a problem