Attorney General Merrick B. Garland | U.S. Department of Justice
Michael Lee Tomasi, a 38-year-old resident of Rio Verde, Arizona, has been sentenced to 15 months in prison followed by 36 months of supervised release for making online threats against public servants, including federal officials. In addition to the prison sentence, Tomasi was ordered to forfeit an assault rifle, handgun, shotgun, gun magazines, and thousands of rounds of ammunition. He pleaded guilty on August 13 to one count of making threats against public officials.
Attorney General Merrick B. Garland commented on the case: “After making vile threats to execute and sexually assault FBI agents and employees, state and local law enforcement officials, and other public servants, Michael Tomasi told the FBI to ‘come to my house and see what happens’ — what has happened is that he will spend 15 months in federal prison.” Garland expressed gratitude towards the FBI for their role in bringing Tomasi to justice.
FBI Director Christopher Wray emphasized that such threats are unacceptable: “Threatening law enforcement officers and other public officials will not be tolerated... We will continue to work with our partners to hold accountable those who threaten violence against law enforcement officers and other public servants.”
U.S. Attorney Gary Restaino for the District of Arizona highlighted the importance of civil discourse: “Civil discourse and civic dialogue are fundamental to a democratic society... we will continue our efforts to prosecute those who make true threats against public officials and law enforcement officers.”
From May 2021 through November 2023, while residing in Colorado and Arizona, Tomasi used social media platforms to incite violence against various individuals including a city district attorney, a state court judge, a member of Congress as well as other federal officials and law enforcement officers. On August 26, 2023, he admitted posting a threat aimed at killing FBI agents with intent "to impede, intimidate or interfere" with their duties.
The investigation was conducted by the FBI. The prosecution was led by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Raymond K. Woo and Abbie Broughton Marsh from the District of Arizona with assistance from Trial Attorney Dmitriy Slavin from the National Security Division’s Counterterrorism Section.
