Carl Howard Payne, Jr. from Colorado Springs faces charges for making threats involving Tesla owners and the U.S. Presidential Cabinet. The U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Colorado filed charges of Interstate Communication of Threats against him.
On March 20, 2025, emails threatening the 47th Presidential Cabinet and Tesla owners were sent from betweensaltandstart@proton.me to various media outlets. The emails mentioned a "Declaration of War" and detailed potential murders of Tesla owners beginning April 17, 2025, until Elon Musk's death. Payne reportedly sent the same email to ProPublica and Thomson Reuters via Signal user “c” and mailed similar letters to insurance companies on April 2, 2025. These letters came with a false return address, “The White House,” but bore a Denver postmark.
Investigations suggest Payne is linked to the Proton Mail and Signal accounts used to send the threats. The Denver field office of the FBI is conducting the investigation, with Assistant U.S. Attorney Jasand Mock handling the prosecution. The case remains in the allegation stage as Payne retains a presumption of innocence.
Case Number: 25-mj-00081-NRN
