Armed Utah Man making threats against Biden fatally Shot by FBI agents

An armed Utah man accused of making threats against President Joe Biden was shot and killed by FBI agents hours before the president was expected to land in the state Wednesday, authorities said.

Special agents were trying to serve a warrant on the home of Craig Deleeuw Robertson in Provo, south of Salt Lake City, when the shooting happened at 6:15 a.m., the FBI said in a statement.

Law enforcement investigate the scene of a shooting involving the FBI Wednesday, Aug. 9, 2023 in Provo, Utah. (AP)

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Robertson was armed at the time of the shooting, according to two law enforcement sources who spoke to The Associated Press on the condition of anonymity to discuss details of an ongoing investigation.

Robertson posted online Monday that he had heard Biden was coming to Utah and he was planning to dig out a camouflage suit and “clean the dust off the m24 sniper rifle,” according to court documents.

The complaint in United States District Court against Craig Deleeuw Robertson, featuring threatening online postings by Robertson, is photographed in San Francisco, Wednesday, Aug. 9, 2023. (AP)

Biden was scheduled to fly to Utah later in the day and visit a Veterans Affairs hospital in Salt Lake City Thursday to talk about the PACT Act, which expanded veterans benefits. He also planned to hold a reelection fundraiser.

Robertson’s posts indicated he did appear to own a long-range sniper rifle and numerous other weapons, as well as camouflage gear known as a “ghillie suit,” investigators said in court records. Robertson was charged under seal Tuesday with three felony counts, including making threats against the president, court documents show.

The complaint in United States District Court against Craig Deleeuw Robertson is photographed in San Francisco, Wednesday, Aug. 9, 2023. (AP)

In another post, Robertson refers to himself as a “MAGA Trumper,” a reference to former President Donald Trump’s “Make America Great Again” slogan.

Robertson also referenced a “presidential assassination” and made a long list of other online threats, including against top law enforcement officials overseeing court cases against Trump: Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg, US Attorney General Merrick Garland and New York Attorney General Letitia James.

The complaint in United States District Court against Craig Deleeuw Robertson, featuring threatening online postings by Robertson, is photographed in San Francisco, Wednesday, Aug. 9, 2023. (AP)

“The time is right for a presidential assassination or two. First Joe then Kamala!!!” authorities say Robertson wrote in a September 2022 Facebook post included in the filings. No attorney was immediately listed for Robertson in court documents and family members of Robertson could not be immediately reached for comment through publicly available phone numbers.

The complaint in United States District Court against Craig Deleeuw Robertson, featuring threatening online postings by Robertson, is photographed in San Francisco, Wednesday, Aug. 9, 2023. (AP)

The FBI got a tip about the Bragg threat from Truth Social in March, after Robertson posted about “waiting in the courthouse parking garage” with a suppressed weapon and wanting to “put a nice hole in his forehead.” His account has since been suspended from the platform created by Trump.

No further details were immediately released about the shooting, which is under review by the FBI.

At the Provo house where the confrontation apparently took place and which is connected with Robertson through public records, law enforcement could be seen Wednesday going in and out and removing items.

A broken window could be seen next to the door and the blinds inside were askew.

The road leading to the house was blocked by police.

The house is just up the street from a meeting house of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, with the Wasatch Mountains rising in the background.

Travis Lee Clark, who’s known Robertson for years from working at their church ward together, described Robertson as “frail of health,” a masterful woodworker and an “established icon” in their community. Robertson propped himself on a wood cane he’d carved himself, said Clark, who was surprised he was considered a serious threat.

“He was a boomer, and he was very political and sometimes made off-color jokes … but nothing that indicated it was a threat,” said Clark, who added that he hadn’t seen Robertson’s Facebook posts until after his death. Even considering those posts, he said, “it feels like an overreaction.”

Clark said Robertson had a collection of about 20 guns, though he noted that that wasn’t unusual for the area.

Robertson had a custom woodworking business but did not renew his license after it expired last year, according to state records. On LinkedIn, Robertson said he worked for 45 years as a structural steel and welding inspector before retiring and starting his business, saying he specialized in “custom designs.”

Biden is in the middle of a trip to the Western United States, and was due to fly to Salt Lake City after spending Wednesday in New Mexico, where he spoke at a factory that will produce wind towers.

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