A federal grand jury in Las Vegas has indicted Henderson resident Jason Randall Utlaut on one count of threat against the president, following an investigation that began when investigators said he posted a series of online videos threatening to kill President Donald J. Trump and carry out other violence. Investigators searched his home and vehicle last month, seizing more than a dozen firearms in the process.
According to KSNV, the FBI's National Threat Operations Section received an emergency notification on October 16 about five threatening YouTube posts. Investigators said the posts included threats to kill the U.S. president, carry out a mass shooting and commit other violence, and the investigation traced the posts back to Utlaut.
That same day, the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department executed a search warrant at Utlaut's Henderson residence and vehicle, the station's report states. Police seized 15 firearms, along with multiple firearm magazines and ammunition, according to that account. A statement attributed to the Justice Department describes a similar seizure, saying that during the search, 15 firearms, together with multiple firearm magazines and ammunition, were seized.
Charge Carries a Five-Year Maximum
Utlaut faces a maximum statutory penalty of five years in prison if convicted, per the Justice Department. That ceiling aligns with the text of 18 U.S.C. § 871, the federal statute covering threats against the president, which specifies that a person convicted under the provision may be imprisoned for not more than five years. His arraignment is scheduled for November 18.
Officials tied to the case pointed to the broader stakes of the work. Reggie Rader said preventing violence requires coordinated work among law enforcement agencies, and emphasized regional partnerships and federal collaboration to share information, identify threats and protect communities, the station's report notes.
Part of a Wider Pattern in Southern Nevada
The Henderson case follows a separate local incident over the summer that also involved a large firearm cache. Authorities arrested Allison Howlett in Henderson on June 27 after an alleged mass-shooting threat, recovering 52 firearms between her vehicle and home, according to the Las Vegas Sun. A search of her vehicle alone turned up 22 firearms, with 30 more found at her home, the newspaper reported.
Assistant Sheriff Dori Koren cited an uptick in threat activity in Southern Nevada over the previous two to three years, according to the same Las Vegas Sun report. The pattern is not unique to Nevada: in Ohio, 18-year-old Justin Olsen, who posted online under the name “ArmyOfChrist,” was charged with threatening to assault a federal law enforcement officer, according to NBC News. Investigators in that case recovered 15 rifles, 10 semi-automatic pistols and roughly 10,000 rounds of ammunition from the residence where Olsen was living, the outlet reported.
