A Utah man accused of making threats against Joe Biden was shot and killed by FBI agents hours before the US president was expected to land in the state, authorities said.
Special agents were trying to serve a warrant on the home of Craig Deleeuw Robertson in Provo, south of Salt Lake City, when the shooting happened at 6.15am, the FBI said in a statement.
Robertson posted online on Monday that he had heard Mr Biden was coming to Utah and he was planning to dig out a camouflage suit and “clean the dust off the m24 sniper rifle”.
The posts indicated he did appear to own a long-range sniper rifle and numerous other weapons, as well as camouflage gear known as a “ghillie suit”, investigators said in court records.
Robertson also referenced a “presidential assassination” and made other threats against Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg, US Attorney General Merrick Garland and New York Attorney General Letitia James, court documents state.
“The time is right for a presidential assassination or two. First Joe then Kamala!!!” authorities say Robertson wrote in a September 2022 Facebook post included in the filings.
No attorney was immediately listed for Robertson in court documents.
No further details were immediately released about the shooting, which is under review by the FBI.
Mr Biden is in the middle of a trip to the Western United States. He spent Wednesday in New Mexico, where he spoke at a factory that will produce wind towers, and is scheduled to fly to Utah later in the day.
On Thursday, he is expected to visit a Veterans Affairs hospital to talk about the Pact Act, which expanded veterans benefits, and hold a reelection fundraiser.
