“DIGGING OUT MY OLD GHILLE [sic] SUIT AND CLEANING THE DUST OFF THE M24 SNIPER RIFLE,” wrote Craig Robertson of Provo, Utah, Monday on social media. “WELCOM [sic], BUFFOON-IN-CHIEF!”
By 6:15 a.m. Wednesday he was shot dead by Federal Bureau of Investigation agents, according to multiple reports.
A report from The Salt Lake Tribune said Robertson was threatening President Joe Biden, who arrived in Utah Wednesday to close a three-day trip to Western states. The outlet cited a criminal complaint filed against Robertson.
“The FBI did not immediately identify the man killed,” said the report. “But a criminal complaint that the U.S. Attorney’s office released to The Salt Lake Tribune on Wednesday indicates that he was Craig Robertson, whom federal prosecutors had recently charged with threats against the president.”
According to the outlet, the FBI also had contact with Robertson in March when he posted a social media threat to kill New York County District Attorney Alvin Bragg using username @winston4eagles. Bragg is the leader of an investigation into former President Donald Trump that resulted in an indictment this April.
“I’ll be waiting in the courthouse parking garage with my suppressed Smith & Wesson M&P 9mm to smoke a radical fool prosecutor that should never have been elected,” said post read in part, per a complaint.
Agents surveilled Robertson’s Provo home following the threat. They saw him driving to a church near his home while wearing a hat that said “TRUMP” as well as a dark suit with an Ar-15 style pin. The Salt Lake Tribune said the nearest church to his home is the meetinghouse of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, located at 450 N. 1220 West. When Robertson arrived home, agents confronted him and he told them to return with a warrant.
“The lay leader of the local congregation confirmed Wednesday that Robertson lived alone within his ward boundaries,” said the outlet.
This Tuesday, federal agents did receive a warrant for Robertson’s arrest. Agents were serving arrest and search warrants Wednesday when the fatal shooting occurred, Sandra Barker an FBI spokesperson with the agency’s Salt Lake City division, said, according to The Salt Lake Tribune.
In addition to the recent threat against Biden and the March threat against Bragg, it appears that Robertson has a history of making violent threats on social media. For example, a 2022 Facebook post that said “THE TIME IS RIGHT FOR A PRESIDENTIAL ASSASSINATION. FIRST JOE THEN KAMALA!!!” referring to Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris. CNN said Robertson also made threats against U.S. Attorney General Merrick Garland.
According to the Tribune, “it is not clear whether Robertson was armed or opened fire when FBI agents shot and killed him Wednesday.”
CBS News said that it obtained video recorded by neighbors that showed the raid, “during which apparent flashbangs were seen,” and one neighbor told the outlet “they heard about six gunshots and said the man’s body was eventually brought out to the street.”
CNN reported Thursday that FBI SWAT agents were giving commands to Robertson as he pointed a gun at them, citing a law enforcement source familiar with the incident. Barker did not say whether any FBI agents were injured.
“The FBI takes all shooting incidents involving our agents or task force members seriously,” she said in a statement published by The Salt Lake Tribune. Per FBI policy, the shooting is being investigated by the agency’s Inspection Division.
National Security Council Coordinator for Strategic Communications John Kirby praised the FBI’s actions on “CNN This Morning” Thursday praised the law enforcement response and deferred questions about the investigation to the FBI.
Robertson was facing three federal charges for threats against the president as well as influencing, impeding and retaliating against federal law enforcement officers by threat, said CNN. Investigators confirmed that he does own a sniper rifle, said the outlet.
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