Seattle police arrested a man who has been accused of making an online bomb threat at a Portland, Oregon, police precinct in an attempt to destroy the building.
Kyle Robert Tornow, 36, from Seattle, appeared before U.S. Attorney Brian T. Moran on Wednesday at the District Court in Seattle and if convicted faces up to 10 years in prison and a $250,000 fine, according to a release from the Department of Justice.
“I am going to bomb a police precinct in Portland, OR. The bomb is already in place and has been packaged in a way that prevents detection from canine officers. Unless your officers disengage your war with the citizens of Portland I will blow up this precinct,” the message sent by the accused said, according to a complaint (pdf) released by the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Washington.
“You are weak. We are strong, many and fluid in nature. If I am caught, others will take my place and immediately detonate the bomb. This is a felony threat. Please take this seriously to avoid death,” the message continued.
Authorities received Tornow’s message on July 24, according to the complaint. Every message submitted to the City of Portland’s TrackIT system is assigned with a unique item number and contains information such as a name, phone number, and email address that had to be provided in order to register an account.
FBI agents managed to track the accused email identifications after he made the threats under the alias name, “TORNOW,” allegedly using the City of Portland’s TrackIT system.
Tornow was arrested without incident Wednesday morning after officials were able to track his location. He allegedly admitted to sending the bomb threat.
The documents show he has previously been arrested for “harassment, theft of a motor vehicle, and drugs.”
An FBI agent also located his Facebook account and found a post related to anarchist extremism.
“I know from my training and experience that a solid black flag bearing a white “A” within a circle is a symbol of anarchist extremism specifically associated with black bloc violent ideology,” the agent said, according to the documents. “Black bloc” refers to violent extremists who dress in black, conceal their identities, and specialize in violent intimidation tactics and property destruction. They have frequently appeared at Black Lives Matter rallies and as counterprotesters at Trump rallies. They are most often associated with anarcho-communist group Antifa.
“Black bloc anarchist extremists believe the use of violent acts and threats are the only means of forcing their political and social change on the government and society,” he continued.
The incident is still under investigation and the accused will be prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Thomas Woods, the DOJ said.
It is unclear if he has an attorney that could speak on his behalf.
