The man arrested last week for alledgedly threatening to assassinate Utah Gov. Gary Herbert was charged in 3rd District Court on Friday.
Brian Biff Baker, 52, of Kearns, is charged with one count of possession or use of a controlled substance, a second-degree felony; purchase, transfer, possession or use of a dangerous weapon by a restricted person, a third-degree felony; and threatening elected officials, a class B misdemeanor.
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On Feb. 2, Baker sent messages to a friend saying that he was lying in the bushes near the Utah Governor’s Mansion at 602 E. South Temple and intended to shoot the governor, court documents say.
The text messages included statements such as: "Been casing the place they going to s--- when the explosion start lol should be funny as hell its a dangerouse [sic] mission." Another text read: "this cop drives by one more time Im takeing [sic] him out," court documents show.
Someone alerted West Valley City police earlier in the day about Baker’s text messages.
The threat prompted the governor, who was at the mansion at the time, to be moved by his security detail, according to a probable cause statement released by the Salt Lake County Jail.
Surveillance video taken of the area around the mansion on Feb. 2 shows Baker looking around the property, police said.
Baker was lured to a gas station in the area of 900 East and South Temple just before 10 p.m., where he was arrested by undercover investigators.
Police found containers of ammunition, a large knife, M-88 Salute explosive, several cardboard boxes of illegal firecrackers, a pipe and two baggies of methamphetamine in Baker’s truck, which was parked less than a block away, charging documents say.
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