FBI shoots and kills Utah man wanted for threats against Biden before president's visit

The FBI shot and killed a man in Utah while agents were trying to arrest him at his home for making threatening statements targeting President Joe Biden ahead of the president's visit to the state.

The man, Provo resident Craig Deleeuw Robertson, 75, was charged Tuesday with three felony counts for threats against the president, making interstate threats, and influencing, impeding and retaliating against federal law enforcement and officers by threat.

The shooting occurred around 6:15 a.m. MDT on Wednesday when agents attempted to arrest Roberts and serve search warrants at Robertson's home.

The shooting incident is under review by the FBI’s Inspection Division. The FBI did not provide further details on how the shooting unfolded.

On Sunday, according to charging documents, Robertson posted the following on his Facebook account “I HEAR BIDEN IS COMING TO UTAH. DIGGING OUT MY OLD GHILLE SUIT AND CLEANING THE DUST OFF THE M24 SNIPER RIFLE. WELCOM, BUFFOON-IN-CHIEF!"

Past photos of Roberts, detailed by prosecutors in the complaint, show him with possession of a ghillie suit and a long-range rifle.

Biden, who is traveling in the Southwest, is set to arrive in Salt Lake City Wednesday evening to commemorate the one-year anniversary of the PACT Act, which expanded benefits for veterans, and attend a campaign fundraiser in Park City, Utah. Both events are set for Thursday.

Robertson is also accused of making threats against Manhattan, New York District Attorney Alvin Bragg, who is pursuing federal charges against Trump for alleged hush-money payments to adult film actress Stormy Daniels in the 2016 presidential campaign.

In a March 18 post on Truth Social, the social media site launched by former President Donald Trump, Robertson described in great detail how he would head to New York, wait in a courthouse parking garage and kill Bragg with his Smith & Wesson M&P 9mm gun.

The FBI, which began surveilling Robertson in March, observed Robertson − described in the charging document as a "heavy-set white male" − outside his home wearing a suit with an AR-15 style rifle lapel pin attached and a multi-colored hat bearing the word "TRUMP" on the front.

The FBI reviewed other social media posts from Robertson as part of its investigation. One from September 2022 read said the "time is right" to assassinate Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris.

Another social media post the same month targeted New York Attorney General Letitia James. "A sniper's bullet does not recognize your qualified immunity," the post read, ending with an expletive.

Robertson posted a photo on Facebook of a semiautomatic that referred to it as "MY DEMOCRATIC ERADICTATOR." Other posts threatened Biden and Attorney General Merrick Garland.

In another post in March, Robertson alluded to the FBI agents surveilling him and appeared to suggest he nearly shot at them. "I know you're reading this and you have no idea how close your agents came to 'bang," he wrote.