A Tucson Man Is Charged With Emailing a TV Station a Threat to Bomb the White House. No Explosives or Attack Have Been Reported.
Federal prosecutors in Arizona have charged Jacob Aaron Hicks, 46, of Tucson, by criminal complaint with making an interstate threat to injure. The complaint alleges that on Sept. 23 he emailed a Tucson television station claiming there would be an imminent bomb strike against the White House and other locations in Washington, D.C., according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Arizona as reported by Newsweek and Fox News.
The Justice Department did not say that explosives were found or that an attack was attempted, Newsweek reports. A complaint is an accusation, not a finding, and Hicks is presumed innocent.
- Sept. 23email datethe alleged message to a Tucson TV station; unsent drafts to other newsrooms carry the same date — Fox News, ABC15
- Oct. 7arrestinitial federal court appearance followed on Oct. 8 — KOLD 13 News
- 1count by complaintinterstate threat to injure, case no. 26-MJ-10107 — Newsweek
- 0explosives reportedthe Justice Department did not say any were found or that an attack was attempted — Newsweek
The station that received the email, KGUN 9 according to ABC15, forwarded it to law enforcement. The FBI opened an investigation with help from the Secret Service, and Fox News reports that investigators tied the email to an account linked to Hicks, and Newsweek reports that he was identified as the alleged sender. KOLD reports that the email included the line “You Americans will pay. Allah, to Allah.”
Investigators also found additional draft emails in the same account, dated Sept. 23 and addressed to other news organizations, with similar threats, according to Fox News and ABC15. Legal Insurrection, summarizing the Justice Department release, says prosecutors state that none of the drafts was sent.
KOLD reports that in an earlier text message Hicks allegedly claimed access to anthrax to use against Tucson and to C4 explosives to hit a federal building. Those are allegations about words, not findings that he had either one. Newsweek reports that the Justice Department did not say explosives were found or that an attack was attempted; the anthrax and C4 claim appears in KOLD’s account alone among the outlets we could read.
Hicks reportedly claimed he had loaned his phone to a homeless person when the email was sent, KOLD reports, and Legal Insurrection’s summary suggests investigators were not persuaded. Who sent the message is the central factual question in the case, and a court will decide it. None of the coverage we reviewed reports a prior record, a motive or a group affiliation.
The charge, “Making an Interstate Threat to Injure,” tracks the federal threats statute, 18 U.S.C. § 875(c), which carries a maximum of five years in prison. The coverage we reviewed names the charge but neither the section nor a penalty, so that is our reading of the statute and not the complaint’s text.
The Justice Department places the case under National Security Presidential Memorandum 7, the Sept. 25, 2025 directive on countering domestic terrorism and organized political violence, and under Joint Task Force Vanguard, with Newsweek and Legal Insurrection reporting the link. The department told Talking Points Memo in June that the task force began in March 2026 in response to the memorandum. Newsweek reports the stated aim is to protect First Amendment rights while targeting political violence. No motive has been announced, so nothing public yet establishes that this alleged threat is political violence in the memo’s sense.
“We must take threats of violence like this one seriously.”
U.S. Attorney Timothy Courchaine — via Fox News, KOLD and Newsweek
Jacob Aaron Hicks — 46, of Tucson; charged by complaint; presumed innocent.
Timothy Courchaine — U.S. Attorney, District of Arizona; his office is prosecuting.
Rebecca Day — Special Agent in Charge, FBI Phoenix; the FBI leads the investigation with the Secret Service.
Hicks made his initial appearance on Oct. 8. The coverage we reviewed reports no detention ruling, plea or next hearing. Under the Speedy Trial Act an indictment generally must follow within 30 days of arrest, which here points to about Nov. 6 unless the clock is waived or extended.
A Tucson man is accused of emailing a bomb threat against the White House to a local TV station, with unsent drafts aimed at other newsrooms. No explosives or attack have been reported; he reportedly says he had lent his phone to someone else; and he is presumed innocent.
