ROANOKE, VA. – A Gainesville, Virginia man, who threatened to ‘blow-up Roanoke,’ and kill a bank branch manager, was arrested earlier this week on federal charges.
Brandon Hayward, 33, is charged via federal criminal complaint with use of a telephone to make a threat to injure or destroy property by means of fire or explosives as well as one count of communicating a threat in interstate commerce.
According to court documents, on Monday, August 15, 2022, Hayward called the InFirst Federal Credit Union located in the Poff Federal Building in Roanoke, Virginia. The branch manager spoke with Hayward and attempted to assist him concerning a recurring charge on his account.
Unsatisfied with the outcome of his complaint, Hayward became irate and told the branch manager, “I am going to get you raped…I will get you killed, bitch.”
He told the branch manager twice, “I am going to blow up Roanoke,” and adding, “I don’t give a fu**.”
Hayward then told the branch manager he was going to get his shotgun and Google her name, adding: “You think you’re safe in Roanoke; you’re not.”
Hayward was arrested on August 18, 2022 without incident.
United States Attorney Christopher R. Kavanaugh of the Western District of Virginia made the announcement.
The Federal Protective Service Division of the Department of Homeland Security is investigating the case.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Kristin B. Johnson is prosecuting the case for the United States.
A criminal complaint is merely an allegation, and all defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.