Utah Resident Accused of Making Death Threats to Salt Lake County Sheriff and Other Government Offices

SALT LAKE CITY, Utah - A federal grand jury in Salt Lake City returned a superseding indictment August 21, 2024, charging a Salt Lake County man with stalking. The man was arrested on April 4, 2024, via a federal complaint after he was accused of making repeated threatening phone calls to the Salt Lake County Sheriff's Office and other Salt Lake County government offices.

According to court documents, Ryan Gregory Bracken, 44, of West Valley City, Utah, called the Salt Lake County Recorder's Office on April 1, 2024. In a voicemail, he accused the Salt Lake County Recorder and an employee of being guilty of treason. As alleged, Bracken made a point of stating that the penalty for treason is death. Prior to the voicemail, Bracken had also made repeated phone calls to the Salt Lake County Recorder's Office, which allegedly became increasingly verbally abusive and threatening.

On April 2, 2024, Bracken called the Salt Lake County Sheriff's Office to speak with the elected Sheriff regarding a "fraudulent Sheriff's sale on his property and called it a criminal act. Bracken threatened to "open fire" on the first person who shows up to his property to evict him. Bracken made specific reference to having a 7.62 millimeter firearm. In a separate call on the same day, Bracken made multiple threats that if the Sheriff's sale of his property occurred, he would hold the Sheriff responsible for treasonous acts and she would swing from a rope.

Information obtained from Information Technology specialists with Salt Lake County government revealed that Bracken called various Salt Lake County government offices, to include the Sheriff's Office and the Assessor's Office, 32 times in April 2024 alone.

Bracken is charged with five counts of stalking, and one count of interstate communication of threats. His initial court appearance on the superseding indictment is scheduled for August 27, 2024, at 11:00 a.m. in courtroom 8.4 before a U.S. Magistrate Judge at the Orrin G. Hatch United States District Courthouse in downtown Salt Lake City.

U.S. Attorney, Trina A. Higgins, of the District of Utah made the announcement.

The case is being investigated jointly by Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) and the Salt Lake County Sheriff's Office.

The U.S. Attorney's Office for the District of Utah is prosecuting the case.

An indictment is merely an allegation and all defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.