Colorado man charged in threat on Obama, mall

Star Tribune

Last update: January 30, 2009 - 12:07 AM

A 20-year-old southwestern Colorado man has been indicted on charges of threatening to kill President Obama and blow up the Mall of America in Bloomington.

Timothy Ryan Gutierrez, of Cortez, was indicted Tuesday in federal court in Denver. A warrant has been issued for Gutierrez's arrest, and authorities declined to discuss his whereabouts.

He faces one count each of transmission of threats and falsely threatening to use explosives.

Gutierrez sent an e-mail to the FBI eight days before Obama was inaugurated, the indictment alleges, and wrote: "I'm going to assassinate the new president of the United States of America. PS you have 48 hours to stop it from happening."

Federal court records also say he e-mailed the FBI with a threat against the mall: "I have rigged 40 pounds of C4 [a moldable plastic explosive] ... and my favorite TNT to 7 cars outside the Mall of America."

Mall officials were "notified immediately" by the FBI and Bloomington police of the threat, said Maureen Bausch, the mall's executive vice president of business development. The mall was given the all-clear after 16 to 18 hours, Bausch said, once it was determined "the threat wasn't valid" and a search of the giant retail and entertainment complex turned up nothing suspicious.

PAUL WALSH