Michael Lee Tomasi, 37, of Rio Verde, Arizona, pleaded guilty Tuesday to making threats against federal officials, according to authorities.
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 a city district attorney, a state court judge, a member of Congress, and other federal officials and law enforcement officers.
Tomasi pleaded guilty to posting a threat on Aug. 26, 2023, to kill FBI agents in order to impede, intimidate, or interfere with FBI agents’ performance of their official duties.
Officials stated that Tomasi will be sentenced on Oct. 23 and faces up to 10 years in prison.
Specifically, Tomasi admitted that, on that day, he posted: “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.”
“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 Attorney General Merrick B. Garland. “The Justice Department will hold to account anyone who targets public servants with illegal threats of violence.”
“Threatening law enforcement officers and elected officials strikes at the heart of our communities and our democracy,” said FBI Director Christopher Wray. “The men and women of the FBI work tirelessly every day to defend our homeland and protect the American people. I am proud of their selfless spirit — putting themselves in harm’s way to keep others safe — and we will hold accountable anyone who threatens them.”
Trial Attorney Dmitriy Slavin of the National Security Division’s Counterterrorism Section is providing crucial assistance to Assistant U.S. Attorneys Raymond K. Woo and Abbie Broughton Marsh for the District of Arizona as they prosecute the case.