A Tulsa man has been arrested and charged for sending threatening emails to KOTV Channel 6 directed at President Joseph Biden, unnamed members of the Congress, and their families, announced Acting U.S. Attorney Clint Johnson.
John Jacobs Ahrens, 58, was charged in federal court Monday by Criminal Complaint with making threats against the President.
“John Ahrens allegedly sent a series of emails to Newson6 threatening to murder the President, members of Congress, and their families if he did not receive money,” said Acting U.S. Attorney Clint Johnson. “Making online threats to murder public officials and their families has consequences. The arrest and filing of criminal charges is the first step in holding individuals accountable for their alleged actions.”
According to the affidavit, an executive producer from the station contacted the FBI’s National Threat Operations Center to report the threatening emails dated between May and June 2021.
In his messages, Ahrens demanded money, and if it wasn’t sent, he allegedly wrote that he would kill the President, members of Congress, and their families.
On May 10, 2021, Ahrens sent a message stating, “Please go to my Facebook page and read what I sent to the men of the United States Congress. They have less than 48 hours to hand over my money or their children will start dying all over the country. I’m going to kill their children using the same law as the Government used to force our families on to the Trail of Tears.”
In a June 17 message, he wrote “You have until Monday morning 8:00 am sharp to hand a check over to the State of Oklahoma, the Muscogee Nation and my family in accordance with a signed agreement as set forth in the Treaty of 1866.”
Other messages included “America is going to get to see a sitting President get his head blown off right in front of them” and “…your families will start dying. After that is over, I’m going to come back here one more time and tell you to hand over my money.”
Ahrens was arrested at his Tulsa residence on June 18, 2021, by agents of the FBI and Oklahoma State Bureau of Investigation and task for officers with the FBI’s Joint Terrorism Task Force. Ahrens allegedly admitted to sending the emails to KOTV during questioning.
A Complaint is a temporary charge alleging violation of the law. Defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law. For the case to proceed to trial, the United States must present the charge to a federal Grand Jury within 30 days. Once a Grand Jury returns an Indictment, a defendant has a right to a jury trial at which time the United States would have the burden of proving the defendant’s guilt.
The U.S. Secret Service, FBI, and Oklahoma State Bureau of Investigation are the investigative agencies. Assistant U.S. Attorney Joel-lyn A. McCormick is prosecuting the case.
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