Neighbors of Man Killed by FBI After Allegedly Threatening Biden Speak Out: 'That's Not the Man I Knew'
Shocked neighbors of a Utah man who was shot and killed in Provo on Aug. 9 by federal agents after allegedly making threats to President Joe Biden and others online are speaking out.
CBS News reported Craig Deleeuw Robertson, 75, had made online threats targeting Biden, his family and former President Barack Obama.
Agents descended on his home early that morning at around 6:15 a.m. local time. The FBI said it sent a team to serve search warrants, as well as to arrest Robertson.
A criminal complaint filed in the U.S. District Court in Utah outlined the alleged threats and said Robertson faced a number of federal charges, including threats against a president.
The FBI has not yet confirmed Robertson was the man who shot and killed, nor has it offered any specific details as to how and why Robertson ended up dead.
Breaking News: The deadly shooting in Utah happened Wednesday morning, hours before President Biden arrived in Salt Lake City. Craig Deleeuw Robertson was shot dead after he reportedly made threats to kill FBI agents and use his sniper rifle when Biden arrived. pic.twitter.com/fo5Q13BAP5
— Fox3 Now (@fox3news) August 9, 2023
Witnesses of the deadly encounter told CBS News that flashbangs were used and that around six gunshots were heard.
It is not clear how many shots were fired by the bureau or if Robertson returned fire.
After the shooting, the man’s body was reportedly removed from his home and placed briefly in the street in front of it where neighbors saw it.
Two of those neighbors spoke about the raid, Robertson and their reactions to the events to KSL-TV in Salt Lake City.
Travis Clark, a neighbor who said he knew Robertson from church, said the manner in which Robertson was killed shocked him.
Clark also said he was unaware of Robertson’s online profiles or his alleged threatening social media posts.
“As near as I can tell, you know, he shot his mouth off on Facebook, and that brought him to people’s attention, and this happened,” Clark told the outlet.
He added that he only knew Robertson from church, but said he did not seem to be the kind of man who would make threats online.
“I was not friends with him on social media,” Clark said. “I knew him just through church, and they’re pretty out there, but that’s not the man I knew.”
🚨#UPDATE: Brand new Video has been released and was captured by neighbor shows FBI encounter with Robertson. The FBI says its agents were attempting to serve arrest and search warrants in Provo when they shot and killed a suspect, now identified as Craig Deleeuw Robertson, at… pic.twitter.com/ntQBEAjsgg
— R A W S A L E R T S (@rawsalerts) August 9, 2023
Another one of Robertson’s neighbors, a woman named Nyla Rollins, told KSL she was aware Robertson had previously expressed his dissatisfaction with the government from the local to the federal levels.
She also said she and others are stunned by the sudden death of their “anti-government” neighbor and the manner in which he died.
“I think the neighborhood’s just kind of feeling a little melancholy,” Rollins said after her neighborhood became the scene of both a shooting and then a media frenzy.
Rollins concluded, “It just goes to show, you never know who your neighbors are.”
According to the Associated Press, which spoke to someone close to the investigation, Robertson responded to news that Biden was headed to Utah that Wednesday by making a direct threat online.
Per the AP, the man posted about putting on a camouflage suit and “cleaning the dust off the M24 sniper rifle.”
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