Tucson Man Charged After Email Threatened ‘Mass Bombings’ at the White House, Prosecutors Say
Jacob Aaron Hicks, 46, of Tucson is charged with an interstate threat after an email to a TV station warned of White House bombings, prosecutors said.
A Tucson, Arizona, man has been charged with threatening to carry out bombings at the White House and other sites in the Washington, D.C., area in an email he allegedly sent to a local television station, federal prosecutors said.
Jacob Aaron Hicks, 46, was arrested on Wednesday, Oct. 7, 2026, and charged by criminal complaint with making an interstate threat to injure, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Arizona. He made his first appearance in federal court on Thursday, Oct. 8, 2026, 13 News and Newsweek reported.
The email
According to the complaint, Hicks emailed Tucson station KGUN 9 on Sept. 23, 2026, claiming there would be an imminent bomb attack on the White House and other locations in Washington. Part of the email read, “You Americans will pay. Allah, to Allah.”
The station passed the email to authorities, and the FBI opened an investigation that identified Hicks as the alleged sender, KGUN 9 reported. Investigators also found unsent drafts in the same email account, dated Sept. 23, 2026, addressed to other news organizations and containing similar threats, according to the complaint.
“We must take threats of violence like this one seriously,” U.S. Attorney Timothy Courchaine said. “I am grateful to our local news station for referring this threat to law enforcement, and to the FBI for addressing the situation quickly, professionally, and with the level of commitment it required.”
The Justice Department has not announced a motive.
The allegations have not been proven in court.
