Intellectual Property Law

Colorado Man Faces 10 Years for Threatening Obama by E-Mail

By Ryan Singel, Kevin Poulsen, Sarah Lai Stirland, Kim Zetter, and David Kravets

Timothy Ryan Gutierrez probably wishes he used "Mail Goggles," the Gmail feature requiring the disgruntled or intoxicated to solve a series of math problems before sending e-mails that one might regret later.

Instead, the 20-year-old Colorado man is staring down a maximum of 10 years in the slammer for his alleged recent e-mails sent directly to the Federal Bureau of Investigation threatening to "assassinate" President Barack Obama. Another message said he had "rigged 40 pounds of C4" to blow up vehicles in the Mall of America in suburban Minneapolis, according to an indictment (.pdf).

Gutierrez was arrested Thursday when he surrendered to the FBI in Durango, Colorado, after an indictment was unsealed. He told the Cortez Journal in Colorado that he had no intention of carrying out his messages.

"I'm not mad about him becoming president, but he's not doing what he said he was going to do," he said. "He's not doing anything for the lower class ? just the middle and upper class. Medications are going up, not lowering, and jobs are being lost. His actions are going to get him in trouble."

He told the newspaper before he surrendered that he was unemployed, but "played with computers."

According to the indictment, Gutierrez sent the messages eight days before Obama was inaugurated. "I?m going to assassinate the new president of the United States of America. PS you have 48 hours to stop it from happening," one of them said.

Another alleged e-mail sent that same day added:

what are you waiting for you have 48 hours remember and one more thing that I have forgotten to mention I have rigged 40 pounds of C4, he and my favorite TNT to 7 cars outside the Mall of America good luck thank you and God bless he you know the rest time is wasting.

He told the Cortez Journal: "I'm in serious shit."

See Also:

• Weak Password Brings 'Happiness' to Twitter Hacker
• Online Threat to Kill Obama Leads to Arrest
• Obama Sides With Bush in Spy Case
• Judge: 'Sufficient Facts' Exist That U.S. Spied on Islamic Charity ...
• Card Processor Admits to Large Data Breach
• Read All About It: Online Readers Become Assassination Plot ...
• Christian Soldier Is Behind the Obama Smear Video
• If NSA Spying Not A 'Dragnet,' What Were They Doing?
• Lawyers Decry New Spy Law as Unconstitutional, Urge Federal Judge ...
• Happy Birthday, FOIA! You Suck.

Full post as published by Threat Level on January 30, 2009 (boomark / email).