The 75-year-old man shot and killed by FBI agents in Provo last week had pointed a gun at the agents before they fatally opened fire on him, the FBI said in an updated statement Monday afternoon.
The shooting unfolded at about 6:15 a.m. Wednesday as agents were serving arrest and search warrants at the home of Craig Deleeuw Robertson, who prosecutors say had threatened to kill President Joe Biden ahead of the president’s Utah visit last week.
Before the Wednesday raid, federal prosecutors had charged Robertson with threats against the president, interstate threats and retaliating against federal law enforcement, according to a criminal complaint. Federal agents had received a warrant for Robertson’s arrest a day earlier, on Aug. 8, the document shows.
Robertson resisted arrest and “pointed a .357 revolver” at the agents Wednesday as they attempted to take him into custody, according to the updated statement Monday from Sandra Barker, an FBI spokesperson with the agency’s Salt Lake City division. It’s unclear if Robertson fired the weapon.
“The FBI takes all shooting incidents involving our agents or task force officers seriously,” the FBI said in the statement.
Two days before the fatal shooting, Robertson had posted to social media on Aug. 7, writing, “I HEAR BIDEN IS COMING TO UTAH,” according to the complaint.
“DIGGING OUT MY OLD GHILLE SUIT AND CLEANING THE DUST OFF THE M24 SNIPER RIFLE,” the post continued. “WELCOME, BUFFOON-IN-CHIEF!”
(via criminal complaint) This photo of a man in tactical gear was posted to Craig Deleeuw Robertson's Facebook page, according to a criminal complaint. Posts on the page made threats to assassinate President Joe Biden ahead of his visit to Utah. FBI agents shot and killed Robertson on Wednesday, Aug. 9, 2023.
Robertson had been on agents’ radar since at least March 19, when the agency’s National Threat Operations Center received a tip from an unnamed social media company that a person with the username “@winston4eagles” had posted a threat to kill New York County District Attorney Alvin Bragg. At the time, Bragg was overseeing a criminal investigation into former President Donald Trump, the complaint states.
“I’ll be waiting in the courthouse parking garage with my suppressed Smith & Wesson M&P 9mm to smoke a radical fool prosecutor that should never have been elected,” the post read in part, according to the complaint.
After the tip, two FBI agents in March began to surveil Robertson’s Provo home, approaching him at one point in Robertson’s front yard, where one called out, “Mr. Robertson?”
When Robertson answered, the agents identified themselves, the complaint states. During their conversation, Robertson admitted he used the social media username “@winston4eagles,” and when the agents said they would like to speak with him regarding a post he made, Robertson said: “I said it was a dream!”
“We’re done here!” Robertson continued, according to the complaint. “Don’t return without a warrant!”
As agents continued to investigate Robertson, they found more social media posts that appeared to indicate Robertson owned numerous firearms, including a sniper rifle, as well as a ghillie suit, and had made “violent threats to murder public officials.”
The posts also indicate that Robertson intended to impede, intimidate and retaliate against the FBI, the complaint states. One such post read, “HEY FBI, YOU STILL MONITORING MY SOCIAL MEDIA?”
“CHECKING SO I CAN BE SURE TO HAVE A LOADED GUN HANDY IN CASE YOU DROP BY AGAIN,” the post continued.
(Chris Samuels | The Salt Lake Tribune) A man wearing Donald Trump attire holds a flag as law enforcement investigate the FBI shooting of Craig Robertson on Wednesday, Aug. 9, 2023.
In its statement, the FBI said the Wednesday shooting is currently under review by the FBI’s Inspection Division.
The FBI added that it adheres to the Department of Justice’s policy on use of deadly force, which states that law enforcement may use deadly force “only when necessary,” further defined as “when the officer has a reasonable belief that the subject of such force poses an imminent danger of death or serious physical injury to the officer or to another person.” No further details were provided Monday.
Robertson, who was divorced in 1986 and a father of three, according to his ex-wife’s obituary, was fatally shot at his Provo home, at the end of a quiet cul-de-sac near 400 North and 1220 West in Provo.
According to a statement released by Robertson’s family last week, they were “shocked and devastated by the senseless and tragic killing of our beloved father and brother, and we fervently mourn the loss of a good and decent man.”
His family added on Facebook that he was “always willing to assist another in need, even when advanced age, limited mobility, and other physical challenges made it more difficult and painful for him to do so.”
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