Utah man killed after threats against Biden believed government was corrupt

11 August 2023, 08:04

Craig Robertson
Utah Man Killed-Biden Threats. Picture: PA

Craig Deleeuw Robertson was shot dead by FBI agents at his home on Wednesday.

An armed Utah man killed by FBI agents after making violent threats against US President Joe Biden has been described by family and neighbours as a gun enthusiast and devoted churchgoer who became distraught over what he saw as “a corrupt and overreaching government”.

The family insisted that Air Force veteran Craig Deleeuw Robertson would not have acted on the threats and committed violence over political disagreements, despite court records in which prosecutors depicted him as radicalised.

Mr Robertson, who public records say was 74 years old, was killed on Wednesday by agents trying to serve a warrant at his Provo home hours before the president landed in Utah to visit a Veterans Affairs hospital in Salt Lake City, about 45 miles away.

Prosecutors had filed three felony charges against Mr Robertson under seal for alleged threats, including one this week that he was “cleaning the dust off the M24 sniper rifle” in anticipation of Mr Biden’s Utah visit.

Joe Biden
Mr Biden visited Salt Lake City in Utah on the day Mr Robertson was killed (AP)

The self-employed woodworker was largely homebound and had limited mobility, his family said.

Mr Robertson referred to himself as a “Maga Trumper”, a reference to former president Donald Trump’s “Make America Great Again” slogan, and posted threats including against Mr Biden, the FBI and numerous law enforcement officials overseeing court cases against Trump, according to an FBI affidavit.

“There was very little he could do but exercise his First Amendment right to free speech,” Mr Robertson’s family said in a statement posted to social media.

The statement added that he was a decent man who voiced his “sometimes intemperate” grievances “in what has become the public square of our age – the internet”.

The family added that it had no animosity against law enforcement agents who took part in the events leading up to his death.

“The salient point is that he was never actually going to hurt anyone,” family member Julie Robertson said in a text message. “He didn’t even leave his house on the day of the presidential visit.”

The FBI investigation began following a March tip about a threat Robertson made on Mr Trump’s social media platform, Truth Social.

Mr Robertson also referenced a “presidential assassination” and posted threats against Manhattan district attorney Alvin Bragg, US attorney general Merrick Garland and New York attorney general Letitia James, authorities said.

He called for assassinating the president and vice president, called an assault rifle a “Democrat eradicator” and regularly posted photos of firearms accompanied by threatening messages, they said.

Death in Utah
The house where Mr Robertson was killed by FBI agents (AP)

In Provo, a growing area south of Salt Lake City known for outdoor recreation and Brigham Young University, several of Robertson’s neighbours said they witnessed and filmed parts of the FBI raid.

They echoed the family’s account, questioning whether the elderly veteran they knew was a credible threat to the president in light of his social media posts.

Multiple neighbours said they could hear law enforcement agents identifying themselves as FBI broadcasting on a vehicle loudspeaker to demand Mr Robertson exit his home.

Roughly 20 law enforcement agents came to Mr Robertson’s house, on a cul-de-sac, at about 6am local time on Wednesday, according to neighbour Jon Michael Ossola.

Mr Ossola said he heard them tell Mr Robertson to come outside and Mr Robertson yelling back, saying he had not committed any federal crimes.

The shouting escalated until a window was broken, Mr Ossola said, then he heard a cacophony of bangs and eventually saw agents bring Mr Robertson’s body outside. “It was clear he was gone,” Mr Ossola said.

“I understand that, like, he had guns, and he had mentioned that he would use them, and so there’s definitely a concern there,” Mr Ossola said. “But it still felt, like, a bit unsettling about how many people were there and just kind of how forceful it felt.”

Mr Robertson was armed at the time of the shooting, according to two law enforcement sources.

His body remained on the scene for several hours until forensic investigators while police began to remove what Mr Robertson’s next door neighbour Katie Monson described as “an arsenal” of firearms from his home and the sheds behind it.

Ms Monson said Mr Robertson was a kind and played with kids in neighbours’ yards. She likened the contrast between his in-person demeanour and online persona to “Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde”.

She said: “After living next to this guy for six years, he’s just like this super sweet grandpa for the most part.

“Yes, he has rants and opinions. I can’t speak to his online life, but he had a peaceful, religious, community-centred side to him. That was how he presented himself in everyday life.”

By Press Association

Latest World News

See more Latest World News

A number of unidentified drones have been spotted over three airbases in Britain, the United States Air Force (USAF) has confirmed.

Security alert after unidentified drones spotted above three US-run RAF bases

Putin has said he will fire more of Russia 's new hypersonic missiles at targets in Ukraine

Kremlin warns 'a collision between the nuclear powers' is imminent as West fires missiles into Russia

Foreign tourists ride on boat in a river in Vang Vieng

Laos government 'saddened' by deaths of tourists in Vang Vieng which include South London woman

At least 11 people have been killed and more than 60 injured, Lebanon's health ministry has stated

Huge Israeli air strikes hit residential building in central Beirut, killing at least 11 people

Russia's President Vladimir Putin and Chinese President Xi Jinping

West is facing its 'most serious and dangerous challenge' since World War Two, ex-general warns

Zelensky promises 'serious response' following Russia's use of new hypersonic missiles

Zelenskyy promises 'serious response' following Russia's use of new hypersonic missiles

Mixed martial arts fighter Conor McGregor (centre) and partner Dee Devlin leave the High Court in Dublin after the personal injury case against him.

Conor McGregor vows to appeal decision after civil jury finds he raped woman in hotel

Mixed martial arts fighter Conor McGregor (centre) and partner Dee Devlin leave the High Court in Dublin after the personal injury case against him.

Conor McGregor raped woman in hotel, civil jury finds, as she is awarded damages

Donald Trump

Donald Trump hush money sentencing postponed as judge says president-elect can seek dismissal

Hostel at centre of 'mass methanol poisoning' offered free shots in exchange for good reviews, backpacker claims

Hostel at centre of 'mass methanol poisoning' offered free shots in exchange for good reviews, backpacker claims

Parents of British lawyer killed in Laos 'mass methanol poisoning' pay tribute to 'kind and loving daughter'

Parents of British lawyer killed in Laos 'mass methanol poisoning' pay tribute to 'kind and loving daughter'

Exclusive
Negative images from Band Aid did 'more bad than good' for Africa, says rapper Fuse ODG

Negative images from Band Aid did 'more bad than good' for Africa, rapper Fuse ODG tells LBC

Simone White will be 'sincerely missed', a tribute to her has said

Devastated colleagues pay tribute to British lawyer as Laos ‘methanol mass poisoning’ death toll rises to six

Many of the victims were staying at the Nana Backpacker Hostel

Laos hostel owner arrested after Brit lawyer becomes fifth tourist to die in 'poisoning'

Holly Bowles, 19, from Melbourne, has died in the ‘methanol mass poisoning’

Sixth person dies in Laos ‘methanol mass poisoning’ as hostel owner detained by police

Putin issued a chilling threat to the West as he confirmed Russia launched a ballistic missile against Ukraine

'The world must respond': Zelenskyy warns that Putin is 'testing' the West after confirmed use of new ballistic missile