An Arizona man pled guilty in federal court Wednesday for posting a slew of online death threats against multiple federal officials – including FBI agents and members of Congress – and planning to make them a reality.
US Department of Justice (DoJ) officials say the man, 37-year-old Michael Lee Tomasi of Rio Verde, Arizona, pled guilty to online threats he made last August “to kill FBI agents.”
Tomasi was arrested this past December and charged with six counts of making threatening posts on social media, specifically targeting three federal officials in an attempt to intimidate and interfere with their official duties, the DoJ said.
Now facing up to ten years in federal prison, authorities say Tomasi’s violent posts zeroed in on a variety of individuals and groups, including “a city district attorney, a state court judge, a member of Congress and other federal officials and law enforcement officers.”
The posts were alleged to have appeared on an extremist website, frequently targeted FBI agents, and included one that threatened to shoot FBI agents “on-site," according to a local NBC news report from December.
Not only did Tomasi threaten to kill the government agents, but when arrested, police said they discovered three firearms and body armor inside his home – including a Smith & Wesson AR-15-style rifle.
Officers also reported to have found a loaded handgun in his vehicle at the time.
"This disgruntled defendant threatened officials from all three branches of government. Moreover, he was prepared to carry out his threats,” said US Attorney Gary Restaino for the District of Arizona.
The DoJ said Tomasi admitted to the August 26th post, which stated he would, “Shoot the FBI first and ask questions later.”
“Any FBI [] have a problem with that[,] come to my house and see what happens. Shoot before they even pull their guns out of their trunk, and you shoot to kill,” the DoJ said Tomasi confessed to writing in the post.
NBC also reported that Tomasi wrote about wanting to ‘torture a former federal official “to death,” subjecting a US congresswoman to "the horror of a violent rape," and executing another US congressman.’
The lawmakers remained anonymous in the court documents, it was stated.
“Threats of violence against elected officials, judges, and FBI agents pose immense danger to the physical safety of individual victims and undermine our very system of government,” said US Attorney General Merrick B. Garland.
“The Justice Department will hold to account anyone who targets public servants with illegal threats of violence,” he said.
Tomasi made the posts from May 2021 through November 2023 while living in Colorado and Arizona, officials said.
Sentencing is scheduled for October 23rd.
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