Federal prosecutors charged Tucson man Jacob Aaron Hicks over an emailed threat to bomb the White House.

A criminal complaint is a charge built on an agent's sworn account. It is not an indictment, and it is not a conviction. This case is about words, not bombs: the Justice Department has not said any explosives were found or that any attack was attempted. The complaint also records Hicks telling agents he had loaned his phone to a homeless person when the email went out. Whether the government can prove who was typing is the case.

The U.S. Attorney's Office for the District of Arizona said Jacob Aaron Hicks, 46, of Tucson, was arrested Wednesday, Oct. 7, 2026, and charged by criminal complaint with one count of making an interstate threat to injure. Fox News reported that Hicks made his initial appearance in federal court Thursday, Oct. 8. The FBI is leading the investigation with help from the U.S. Secret Service, and Newsweek reported the case number as 26-MJ-10107. A complaint starts a federal case. The reporting describes a complaint, not a grand jury indictment.

According to the complaint, as described by Law&Crime, the email went out at 9:03 p.m. on Sept. 23 from a Gmail account to KGUN, the ABC affiliate in Tucson. Law&Crime reported it read, "Be advised. In 12 hours, there'll be a strike against the White House. There's bombs all around Washington, D.C. This is not a joke. Be advised. You Americans will pay. Allah, to Allah." The station alerted law enforcement. Investigators then found unsent drafts in the same account, the U.S. Attorney's Office said. Law&Crime reported one draft, addressed to NBC's Washington station, warned, "In 15 minutes, there will be an attack on the White House, coming from all sides," and another, addressed to the Fox affiliate in Washington, claimed bombs had been placed "in very important buildings in Washington DC." Those are allegations in a charging document. They have not been tested in court.

Law&Crime reported that investigators linked the account to a Mint Mobile phone number registered to Hicks and that Google records indicated he used the account. When FBI agents interviewed him at his Tucson home on Sept. 24, the complaint says, he acknowledged the phone number was his but denied sending the email, and later said he "loaned his phone to a homeless person to use during the time period the email was sent." He consented to a search of his devices. According to the complaint, that search showed the White House contact website was accessed around 7:39 and 7:40 p.m. on Sept. 23, and KGUN's website around 9:01 and 9:03 p.m., near the time the threat was sent. Browsing history shows what a device did. The government still has to prove who was holding it.

The complaint reaches further back, Law&Crime reported. It cites a Sept. 2 text from a contact identified as Hicks to a Tucson-area number that read, "Anthrax is going to be delivered to destroy Tucson I have C4 for federal building and bombing on 9-11-2026 05:00 am." It also describes a May 24, 2016 Wayne County, New York, sheriff's report in which Hicks allegedly called the Monroe County Department of Social Services and threatened to blow up the Wayne County building and "kill everyone in the building." According to that report, deputies went to his address and warned him that further threats could bring charges. The complaint, as reported, does not say he was charged in 2016. An old warning is not a conviction.

"We must take threats of violence like this one seriously," U.S. Attorney Timothy Courchaine said, thanking the station for referring the email to law enforcement. FBI Phoenix Special Agent in Charge Rebecca Day said, "We appreciate the community partner who reported the threat to law enforcement." Newsweek reported that the Justice Department has not announced a motive and that the case falls under National Security Presidential Memorandum 7, an initiative led by Joint Task Force Vanguard that targets political violence. NewsNation also reported the arrest. What is charged is one threat count. All defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty in a court of law.