“John Ahrens allegedly sent a series of emails to Newson6 [KOTV Channel 6] threatening to murder the President, members of Congress, and their families if he did not receive money,” said Acting US Attorney Clint Johnson said in a press release.
An executive producer from the station contacted the FBI’s National Threat Operations Center to report a series of threatening emails dated between May and June 2021, according to a court affidavit cited in the release.
A May 10, 2021, message from Ahrens to the TV station said “Please go to my Facebook page and read what I sent to the men of the United States Congress. They have less than 48 hours to hand over my money or their children will start dying all over the country,” the release said.
Another email warned of plans to kill Biden and yet another message warned “I’m going to come back here one more time and tell you to hand over my money,” the release added.
It was not clear from the release whether Ahrens was attempting to extort money from the television station or from the targeted US officials themselves.
Ahrens, 58, was arrested at his residence in the city of Tulsa on June 18 by agents of the FBI and the Oklahoma State Bureau of Investigation. He admitted to sending the emails to KOTV during questioning and was charged with making threats against the president, according to the release.
