Tucson man charged with White House bomb threats

Jacob Aaron Hicks, 46, of Tucson, Arizona, has been federally charged with making an interstate threat to injure following allegations of bomb threats against the White House and other Washington, D.C. locations.

The investigation began after a Tucson television station received an email on September 23, 2026, claiming that bombs were positioned around the capital and that an attack would occur within 12 hours. Federal investigators identified Hicks as the sender and discovered additional unsent drafts in his email account containing similar threats addressed to other news organizations.

Prosecutors also allege that Hicks sent a text message in early September threatening an anthrax attack in Tucson and a bombing at a federal building using C4 explosives. Hicks reportedly claimed he had loaned his phone to a homeless person at the time the email was sent, but investigators identified him as the source of the messages. Hicks appeared in federal court on October 8.