Arizona Man Arrested Over Sept. 23 White House Bomb Threat Email

Q: What digital footprints linked the Tucson man to the anthrax and C4 texts despite his denial of sending the threats?

Investigators tied Jacob Hicks to the threats through the digital trail on his own devices and accounts. Court records cited in local and wire reports say the bomb-threat email was traced to an account linked to him, and agents found additional unsent draft emails in that same account, all dated Sept. 23 and addressed to other news organizations with similar White House threat language. Authorities also said Hicks acknowledged that the phone number associated with the email account was his, even as he denied sending the message and claimed he had lent his phone to a homeless person. That link between his phone number and the threatening email account was a key part of the case. Separately, agents found a Sept. 2 text message they said was sent by Hicks to a Tucson phone number that referenced “anthrax” and “C4” and threatened Tucson and a federal building. Investigators also cited database checks showing earlier, similar threats connected to Hicks while he was living in New York, which prosecutors used as added context. So despite his denial, the evidence described publicly was the email account and drafts tied to him, the phone number he admitted was his, the earlier anthrax-and-C4 text, and records of prior similar threats.

3 articles · Updated · Fox News · Oct 9

Jacob Aaron Hicks, 46, of Tucson was arrested Wednesday and charged with making an interstate threat to injure after allegedly emailing a bomb threat targeting the White House and other Washington locations.
A local Tucson TV station received the Sept. 23 email, alerted law enforcement, and triggered an investigation that authorities said led them to identify Hicks as the sender.
Investigators said they also found Sept. 23 draft emails in an account linked to Hicks that were addressed to other news organizations and carried similar threats.
The FBI is leading the case with Secret Service assistance, and Hicks made his initial appearance in federal court Thursday.