An Evergreen man arrested for threatening mass violence against multiple law enforcement agencies and a Colorado-based performing arts group was sentenced to 21 months in prison, officials announced Thursday.
Kyle William Staebell, 34, pleaded guilty to making threats of mass violence on Jan. 16, 2023 against the FBI Denver Division, an office of the Department of Homeland Security and a Colorado-based performing arts group, according to a Thursday news release from the U.S. Attorney’s Office.
Later that day, teams from the FBI, Denver Police Department, Lakewood Police Department and Jefferson County Sheriff’s Office arrested Staebell for the threats, the release stated.
“Free speech is protected by the First Amendment, but when speech crosses the line into threats of violence, it becomes a crime,” Denver FBI agent Mark Michalek stated in Thursday’s release. “Violence and threats of violence have no place in our society.”
Investigators determined that in the month before threatening the three locations, Staebell visited each of them, conducted online research about acts of mass violence and purchased a Molotov cocktail, according to Thursday’s release.
Staebell threatened the FBI used the the agency’s National Threat Operations Center online tip line, and filled out the form using his real name. He then made another round of threats on social media, and threatened the performance art group via email.
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