Bryan Melvin Brandenburg, 63, of Waipahu, made his initial appearance today in United States District Court in Honolulu on charges filed in a criminal complaint that he transmitted threats to injure another person and false threats to kill, injure and intimidate an individual, and to damage and destroy a building and other real property, by means of an explosive. The appearance followed Brandenburg’s arrest yesterday at his Waipahu residence. United States Magistrate Judge Wes Reber Porter ordered him detained pending a detention hearing on May 27.
According to court documents, while in Hawaii, on May 4, 2022, Brandenburg, who had pending divorce proceedings in a Utah state court, sent email communications to court personnel in Utah threatening to bomb the 3rd District Courthouse in Salt Lake City, the mayor’s office, the state capitol, every Ivy League school, and the federal courthouse in San Diego. Multiple media persons in Utah also received email communications from Brandenburg on May 4 and May 6 threatening to bomb the Salt Lake City courthouse, “Hall Labs,” and the University of Utah (identified as “U of U”) Center for Medical Innovation.
“Sending threats to kill people or destroy property is a serious matter that we will investigate and prosecute,” said Clare E. Connors, United States Attorney for the District of Hawaii. “It does not matter if the threats are false or made to people and places outside of Hawaii. This conduct causes harm and is unlawful.”
“This arrest confirms the FBI’s commitment in investigating threats of violence by means of an explosive to the fullest extent of the law,” said FBI Special Agent in Charge Steven Merrill. “Whether you threaten someone in Hawaii or elsewhere, the FBI will do whatever is necessary to protect the public to ensure their safety. We ask the public to be vigilant and report things that may seem suspicious or threatening to the FBI to (808) 566-4300 or tips.fbi.gov.”
Brandenburg is charged in the criminal complaint with one count of transmitting in interstate a communication containing a threat to injure the person of another and one count of conveying false threats through interstate commerce to kill, injure, or intimidate an individual or damage or destroy a building or other real property by means of an explosive. If indicted and convicted on those charges, Brandenburg faces maximum terms of imprisonment of five years on the count threatening injury and ten years the six false bomb threat charge.
A criminal complaint is merely an allegation, and the defendant is presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.
This investigation was conducted by the Federal Bureau of Investigation. Assistant U.S. Attorney Darren Ching is handling the prosecution.