The District Court executed a judgment with direct implications on the boundaries of free speech and accountability. Michael Lee Tomasi of Rio Verde, Arizona, was sentenced to 15 months in federal prison after he pleaded guilty to making violent threats against public servants, including FBI agents and federal officials. According to the U.S. Attorney's Office, District of Arizona, this sentencing came as a response to a series of threats he posted on social media from May 2021 through November 2023.
Tomasi’s case has been closely monitored as a stark reminder of the lasting tension between the protection of public officials and the right to free speech. In a plea agreement, Tomasi admitted to publishing a particularly grim threat on August 26, 2023, which read: “Shoot the FBI first and ask questions later. . . . Any FBI [] have a problem with that[,] come to my house and see what happens. Shoot before they even pull their guns out of their trunk and you shoot to kill,” as stated by the U.S. Attorney's Office, District of Arizona. The weapons confiscated in this case included an assault rifle, handgun, shotgun, and a considerable cache of ammunition and magazines. As part of the sentence, Tomasi will also undergo 36 months of supervised release following his imprisonment.
United States District Judge Dominic W. Lanza emphasized the seriousness of making threats against those in service to the public. Attorney General Merrick B. Garland, in a statement after the sentencing, underscored the unacceptable nature of the violent threats made by Tomasi. “After making vile threats to execute and sexually assault FBI agents and employees, state and local law enforcement officials, and other public servants, Michael Tomasi told the FBI to ‘come to my house and see what happens’ – what has happened is that he will spend 15 months in federal prison,” Garland stated, as per the U.S. Attorney's Office, District of Arizona.
The investigation of this case was led by the Federal Bureau of Investigation, with Assistant U.S. Attorneys Raymond K. Woo and Abbie Broughton Marsh of the District of Arizona, Phoenix, joining forces with Trial Attorney Dmitriy Slavin of the National Security Division’s Counterterrorism Section to prosecute the case. The Court assigned case number CR-23-01751-PHX-DWL to Tomasi’s file and further information can be gleaned from release number 2024-164_Tomasi on the U.S. Attorney's Office website.
