Cortez Man Pleads Guilty to Making Threats Against President and Mall of America

DENVER—Timothy Ryan Gutierrez, age 21, of Cortez, Colorado, pled guilty Monday to transmitting a communication containing a threat to injure the person of another, Acting United States Attorney David Gaouette and FBI Special Agent in Charge James Davis announced. Gutierrez pled guilty before U.S. District Court Judge Christine M. Arguello. He is scheduled to be sentenced by Judge Arguello on July 31, 2009 at 1:30 p.m. Gutierrez was indicted by a federal grand jury in Denver on January 27, 2009. 

According to the stipulated facts contained in the plea agreement, on January 12, 2009, the FBI initiated an investigation after receiving two threatening e-mails via www.fbi.gov, housed in Washington, D.C. The first threat stated, “I’m going to assassinate the new president of the United States of America. PS you have 48 hours to stop it from happening.” A second threat sent around the same time to the same e-mail address stated, “what are you waiting for you have 48 hours remember and one more thing...I have rigged 40 pounds of C4...my favorite TNT to 7 cars outside the Mall of America good luck thank you and God bless...”

The FBI immediately contact the Secret Service regarding the threat to then President-elect. They also contacted the FBI office in Minneapolis, which resulted in law enforcement activity at the Mall of America.  Subsequent investigation revealed that the threats were sent from an IP account located in Andrews, Texas. The account holder there told authorities that the messages likely came from her son, who lived in Cortez, Colorado. 

FBI agents went to the apartment in Cortez, where the e-mails originated. A Toshiba laptop computer was seized. Later, the owner of the laptop, Timothy Gutierrez, claimed he had sent the e-mails, but that he did not place any explosive devices at the Mall of America nor did he intend to assassinate the then President-elect.

Gutierrez faces up to five years in federal prison, and up to a $250,000 fine.

This case was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), and the United States Secret Service (USSS).

Gutierrez is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Robert Mydans.