Columbia Man Facing Federal Charges in Maryland for Making Internet Threats to Blow Up the IRS Headquarters

 Also Threatened to Kill the Speaker of the House and to Drive a Vehicle into a Crowd

Baltimore, Maryland – A federal criminal complaint has been filed in Maryland charging Cody Wolf Gideon Mohr, age 27, of Columbia, Maryland, on the federal charges of making Internet threats to destroy a building by use of explosive.  The criminal complaint was signed on January 20, 2021, and Mohr was arrested late that day. 

The criminal complaint was announced by United States Attorney for the District of Maryland Robert K. Hur and Inspector General J. Russell George of the Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration (TIGTA).

U.S. Attorney Robert K. Hur stated, “We take threats to bomb a federal building and injure federal employees seriously.  The U.S. Attorney’s Office and our law enforcement partners will use all the tools at our disposal to identify and prosecute those who make such threats.”

According to the affidavit filed in support of the criminal complaint, on January 19, 2021 the TIGTA Criminal Intelligence and Counterterrorism Division conducted a routine review of publicly accessible social media accounts to identify and prevent threats to the Internal Revenue Service.  The review resulted in the identification of tweets from “@BonaFried” in which the user threatened the IRS and federal employees, including political officials and law enforcement officers.

As detailed in the affidavit, a tweet dated January 15, 2021 stated, “I am going to explode the IRS headquarters with a bomb.”  Additional tweets on or around the same date made reference to the original tweet and allegedly confirmed the user’s intent to bomb the IRS, but said that “I am simply announcing my intentions to give employees a fair shot at escaping alive.”  The user posted other tweets since January 15, 2021, allegedly making additional threats including that he was “laser focused on thinking about ways to kill [Speaker of the House] Nancy Pelosi,” “[it would be cool to] drive 80 mph into a million people,” and that “…if a cop pulls you over for something minor like speeding or a busted tail light, you can just threaten his life and he’ll let you go with no trouble.”  The user also allegedly discussed how easy it was to build a semi-automatic rifle, and discussed obtaining firearms.

Further investigation identified the user of the account as Mohr and that the IP addresses used during recent logins to the account were located in the area in or around Columbia, Maryland.

If convicted, Mohr faces a maximum sentence of 10 years in federal prison for making Internet threats to destroy a federal building by use of explosive.  Actual sentences for federal crimes are typically less than the maximum penalties. A federal district court judge will determine any sentence after taking into account the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.  An initial appearance for Mohr is scheduled for 1:30 p.m. on Friday, January 22, 2021, in U.S. District Court in Baltimore.

A criminal complaint is not a finding of guilt.  An individual charged by criminal complaint is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty at some later criminal proceedings. 

United States Attorney Robert K. Hur commended TIGTA for its work in the investigation.  Mr. Hur thanked Assistant U.S. Attorneys Kathleen O. Gavin and P. Michael Cunningham, who are prosecuting the case.