Sacramento Man Indicted for Transmitting Online Threats to Blizzard Entertainment, a Video-Game Company

SACRAMENTO, Calif. — A federal grand jury returned an indictment today against Stephen Cebula, 28, of Sacramento, charging him with making threats to injure employees of the video-game company Blizzard Entertainment Inc., Acting United States Attorney Phillip A. Talbert announced.

According to court documents, between July 2, 2016, and July 3, 2016, Cebula transmitted messages over the internet to Blizzard Entertainment, in which he stated that he “may or may not pay [Blizzard] a visit with an AK47 amongst some other ‘fun’ tools,” and “might be inclined to ‘cause a disturbance’ at [Blizzard’s] headquarters in California with an AK47 and a few other ‘opportunistic tools.’” Cebula was arrested on July 12, 2016, and is in custody. He is scheduled to be arraigned July 26, 2016.

This case is the product of an investigation by the Federal Bureau of Investigation. Assistant United States Attorneys Heiko P. Coppola and Owen Roth are prosecuting the case.

If convicted, Cebula faces a maximum statutory penalty of five years in prison and a $250,000 fine. Any sentence, however, would be determined at the discretion of the court after consideration of any applicable statutory factors and the Federal Sentencing Guidelines, which take into account a number of variables. The charges are only allegations; the defendant is presumed innocent until and unless proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt.