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Tip number 2136079 flashed on one of our Submit a Crime
Tip computer screens January 12, 2009, eight days before the
inauguration of Barack Obama: “I’m going to assassinate the new
president of the United States of America,” the message said in all
capital letters, followed by hundreds of exclamation marks. And there
was a P.S.: “YOU HAVE 48 HOURS TO STOP IT FROM HAPPENING….”
Less than 10 minutes later, there was another message
from the same person, who called himself Timothy Ryan Gutierrez. He
said he had also rigged 40 pounds of C4 and TNT to seven cars outside
the Mall of America in Minnesota.
Even before the second message arrived, our
Public Access Center Unit
(PACU), one of six units in the Counterterrorism Division’s National
Threat Center Section, which administers the global Internet tip line,
had swung into action, working to verify the credibility of the threats
and then notifying the Secret Service, our Washington Field Office, our
Minneapolis Joint Terrorism Task Force, and other law enforcement
agencies. Meanwhile, PACU analysts were helping investigators in the
field track the identity and location of the person who sent the
messages.
Established in the days immediately after 9/11, the Internet
tip line has received more than 2 million online tips from the public
relating to terrorism, counterintelligence, and criminal matters.
Unit Chief Jesse Levine said that the main function of the tip line “is
to protect against the next September 11,” but every tip that comes in
is seen by two different analysts, carefully vetted, and acted upon if
necessary.
In the early morning hours of January 12, the threat against
President-elect Obama’s life and the Mall of America submitted by
Gutierrez set into motion a whirlwind of activity on the part of the
Bureau and our law enforcement partners. In the freezing cold, the vast
Mall of America parking lot was swept for bombs. Agents and task force
officers from three FBI field offices knocked on doors, trying to
determine if Gutierrez was indeed a real person. He was.
In Andrews, Texas, agents found his mother, who said her troubled
21-year-old son was living in Colorado with his brother and working as
a welder.
About 12 hours after his e-mail threats arrived on our website,
agents knocked on Gutierrez’ door in Cortez. After initially denying
it, he finally admitted to sending the e-mails. He also reportedly
said, “I didn’t think you would find me so fast.” Gutierrez was later
indicted and pleaded guilty to threatening Obama and transmission of
threats in interstate commerce to use explosives. His sentencing is
scheduled for next month.
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Personnel in the unit at Headquarters handle more
than 900 tips every day of the week; so far this year, PACU has already
received more than 160,000 tips.
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It’s not just threats against the president that get attention at PACU, Special Agent Eric Reese, a PACU watch commander, said.
“Every piece of information—whether tip or threat—no matter how
insignificant it might seem, is carefully scrutinized using all the
appropriate open-source and authorized law enforcement data at our
disposal.”
That scrutiny requires an around-the-clock operation
involving three shifts and about 25 Bureau employees who handle more
than 900 tips every day of the week. So far this year, PACU has already
received more than 160,000 tips—and each one is considered serious
until proven otherwise.
“I think the most important thing for
the public to remember is that every single piece of information
submitted to the tip line is reviewed by FBI personnel,” Reese said. If
you consider the magnitude of 9/11 and the threats that still remain to
the homeland, he added, “there is too much at stake to leave anything
to chance.”
To share a tip or lead with the FBI, visit our online electronic tip form at www.fbi.gov.
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