A man was taken into custody in Flagstaff, Arizona, on March 6 after a federal grand jury in Alaska indicted him in December 2024. He is charged with making six bomb threats aimed at locations in Alaska during 2023.
Court documents reveal that on October 17, 2023, Christopher Gilbert, aged 33, allegedly used a phone to issue bomb threats against Ted Stevens International Airport and Fairview Elementary School in Anchorage, as well as the Maniilaq Health Center in Kotzebue. Further incidents occurred on December 8, 2023, when Gilbert reportedly targeted the same airport along with O’Malley Elementary School in Anchorage and Harborview Elementary School in Juneau.
The allegations include demands for a hospital evacuation and claims of bombs planted in schools and a pipe bomb hidden on an aircraft. On one occasion, the threats were allegedly motivated by retaliation against a family member who refused to provide him money.
Gilbert faces six counts of making bomb threats via interstate commerce. He appeared before a U.S. Magistrate Judge today at the U.S. District Court for the District of Arizona and will be transported to Alaska. If found guilty, he could face up to ten years imprisonment. Sentencing will be determined by a federal district court judge based on U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory considerations.
U.S. Attorney Michael J. Heyman for the District of Alaska and Special Agent in Charge Rebecca Day of the FBI Anchorage Field Office announced these developments.
The investigation is being conducted by the FBI Anchorage Field Office.
Assistant U.S. Attorney William Taylor is handling prosecution duties with support from the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Arizona.
It should be noted that an indictment represents merely an allegation; all defendants are presumed innocent unless proven guilty beyond reasonable doubt in court.