Arizona man arrested for allegedly making online threats against federal agents and employees

PHOENIX (AP) — An Arizona man has been arrested for allegedly making online threats against federal agents and employees, according to authorities.

Michael Lee Tomasi, 37, was taken into custody last Friday, FBI officials in Phoenix said. He is a resident of the small community of Rio Verde near the Phoenix suburb of Scottsdale, but he has also lived in Colorado.

Tomasi allegedly threatened a federal judge, FBI agents and elected officials between May 2021 and last month, prosecutors said. Authorities didn’t release the names of Tomasi’s alleged targets.

An Arizona grand jury indicted Tomasi on three counts of threats against a federal official and three counts of making interstate threats.

At his arraignment Monday, Tomasi pleaded not guilty to all counts.

Tomasi faces up to 10 years in prison if convicted for threats against federal officials plus a maximum five-year prison term for each count of making threats across state lines, prosecutors said.

Calls to Tomasi’s two lawyers — Joshua Fisher and Woodrow Charles Thompson — seeking comment on the case weren’t immediately returned Wednesday.