Arizona Man Arrested for Making Online Threats Against Federal Agents and Employees

PHOENIX, Ariz. – Michael Lee Tomasi, 37, of Rio Verde, Arizona, was arrested on Friday after a grand jury indicted him on three counts of Threat Against a Federal Official and three counts of making Interstate Threats.

From May 2021 through November 2023, while living in Colorado and Arizona, Tomasi used a social media platform to express a desire to incite violence and threaten a variety of individuals and groups, including elected officials, a judge, and federal officials and law enforcement officers. The charges against Tomasi relate to threats he made in Arizona to federal law enforcement agents and employees.

“The threats of violence against public officials alleged in this indictment are abhorrent,” said Attorney General Merrick B. Garland. “The defendant is specifically charged with threatening to kill FBI agents and other FBI employees just for doing their jobs. I am deeply proud of the work the FBI does every day; its personnel should not have to deal with threats against themselves as they work to protect the American people. The Justice Department will not stand for such heinous behavior and will prosecute threats against its employees to the fullest extent of the law.”

“Threats against law enforcement personnel like those alleged in this indictment are not just polemics, they are illegal under federal law and corrosive to civic life and dialogue," said United States Attorney Gary Restaino.

Each count alleging Threat Against a Federal Official carries a maximum sentence of 10 years in prison, a fine of up to $250,000, and up to three years of supervised release. Counts alleging Interstate Threat carry a maximum sentence of five years in prison, a fine of up to $250,000, and up to three years of supervised release.

An indictment is simply a method by which a person is charged with criminal activity and raises no inference of guilt. An individual is presumed innocent until evidence is presented to a jury that establishes guilt beyond a reasonable doubt.

The Federal Bureau of Investigation is conducting the investigation in this case. The United States Attorney’s Office, District of Arizona, is handling the prosecution.
 

CASE NUMBER:           CR-23-01751-PHX-DWL
RELEASE NUMBER:    2023-202_Tomasi

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For more information on the U.S. Attorney’s Office, District of Arizona, visit http://www.justice.gov/usao/az/
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