SEATTLE— On Wednesday, September 2, a 36-year-old Seattle man was arrested in connection to a bomb threat that was submitted to a Portland Oregon Police precinct on July 24.
According to U.S. Attorney Brian T. Moran, a person, who was later identified as Kyle Tornow, submitted a message through Track IT, a platform that people can use to communicate with the Portland Police Bureau, claiming he had planted explosives in a Portland Police precinct.
The threat, which was uploaded in the complaint filed by federal officials, said the following:
“I am going to bomb a police precinct in Portland, OR. The bomb is already in place and has been packaged in a way that prevents detection from canine officers. Unless your officers disengage your war with the citizens of Portland I will blow up this precinct. You are weak. We are strong, many and fluid in nature. If I am caught, others will take my place and immediately detonate the bomb. This is a felony threat. Please take this seriously to avoid death.”
After receiving this message, officers searched the internet and databases for the email from which the threat was sent and found out that it was linked to a man named Kyle Tornow, who had created the account in 2005 in Seattle.
Special Agent Katherine Murphy, who submitted the complaint, said that during the investigation she found Tornow’s Facebook profile where he had uploaded a photo with a symbol of “anarchist extremism,” according to Murphy. The picture depicted a man holding a flag with an A inside a circle drawn in it and it had a legend that talked about anarchism.
“You be careful out there and follow black leadership. Anarchy does not mean chaos, it means community care and support,” said the picture uploaded by Tornow.
In an interview with the special agent, the Seattle man admitted he was the author of the bomb threat. Attorney Moran said he was arrested without incident with charges of “threat to damage and destroy a building,” and he might face up to ten years in prison with a $250 thousand fine as well. According to federal officials, Tornow has already been arrested for harassment, theft of a motor vehicle and drugs.
The case is still in investigation by the FBI and it is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Thomas Woods.