Family of Utah Man Shot Dead by FBI Says He Was Concerned With ‘Overreaching Government’

The family of Craig Robertson, who was shot and killed by FBI agents, after threatening to assassinate President Joe Biden, released a statement defending their relative on Friday. 

Robertson “loved this country” but was “frustrated and distraught … by what he, and many others in this nation, observed to be a corrupt and overreaching government,” the family wrote, in a Facebook post.  

In the early hours of Wednesday morning, federal officials attempted to arrest Robertson, 75,  at his Provo home. Robertson refused to comply with the arrest and threatened agents with a gun. In response, the agents shot and killed Robertson. 

Robertson, who described himself as a “MAGA Trumper,” had been under investigation for several months. The FBI was first tipped off by the right-wing social platform Truth Social after Robertson threatened to kill Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg Jr. 

He had also directed threats towards Vice President Kamala Harris, Attorney General Merrick Garland and New York Attorney General Letitia James. 

As Biden’s scheduled visit to Oregon grew closer, Robertson began issuing explicit threats toward the president. 

“I HEAR BIDEN IS COMING TO UTAH. DIGGING OUT MY OLD GHILLE SUIT AND CLEANING THE DUST OFF THE M24 SNIPER RIFLE. WELCOM, BUFFOON-IN-CHIEF,” he wrote in an August 7 post. 

Robertson’s relatives say that while his statements were “intemperate,” he never sincerely planned to kill anyone. 

“He has never, and would never, commit any act of violence against another human being over a political or philosophical disagreement,” the family wrote.