Oahu man, 64, found guilty of email bomb threats

A federal jury today found an Oahu man guilty of seven counts of sending email threats to bomb buildings in Utah and across the United States.

Evidence presented during his trial showed that on May 4, 2022, former Utah resident Brian Melvin Brandenburg, 64, sent an email to two state court employees in Utah threatening to bomb the 3rd District Courthouse in Salt Lake City. Both employees were involved with the defendant’s then-pending divorce case, according to a news release from the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Hawaii.

Federal prosecutors said Brandenburg sent additional emails May 4 and 6, 2022, to various recipients in Utah threatening to bomb the state capitol, the mayor’s office in the Salt Lake City, every Ivy League university, the federal courthouse in San Diego, and Hall Labs and the University of Utah Center for Medical Innovation, both in Utah.

According to the evidence presented at trial, the defendant told the FBI that he “wanted to get their attention.”

U.S. District Judge Leslie E. Kobayashi ordered Brandenburg to remain in federal custody pending his sentencing Nov. 9. He is facing a maximum sentence of 20 years of imprisonment on one of the seven charges and 10 years on each of the remaining counts.

The FBI, Provo Police Department and the University of Utah police department conducted the investigation that resulted in Brandenburg’s conviction, the release said. Assistant U.S. Attorneys KeAupuni Akina and Darren W.K. Ching prosecuted the case.