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Press Release

Tolleson Man Indicted for Threats to the President-Elect and Others and for Firearms Offenses

For Immediate Release
U.S. Attorney's Office, District of Arizona

PHOENIX, Ariz. – On Tuesday, a federal grand jury indicted Manuel Tamayo-Torres, of Tolleson, on four counts of False Statement During the Purchase of a Firearm, one count of Threats Against the President and Successors to the Presidency, one count of Interstate Threatening Communications, and one count of Possession of a Firearm by a Person Subject to an Order of Protection.

According to the complaint, Tamayo-Torres was convicted in 2003 in California for Assault with Great Bodily Injury, a felony. In July 2023 a court in Arizona issued an order of protection against him, in effect for two years, which restrains him from harassing, stalking or threatening his ex-wife.  Both the conviction and the order of protection prohibited his possession of firearms. Despite this, in November 2023, Tamayo-Torres attempted to purchase firearms on two separate occasions, falsely stating he had not been convicted of a felony and was not subject to an order of protection.

The complaint also alleges that in November 2024 Tamayo-Torres made postings on a social media platform threating to harm the President-elect of the United States, including that he was going to kill the President-elect and do violence to his family. In at least one of his posts, Tamayo-Torres displayed a firearm in the context of making threatening statements. That firearm, as well as others, were later located in his home.

A conviction for any of the following: False Statement During the Purchase of a Firearm, Threats Against the President and Successors to the Presidency, or Interstate Threatening Communications carries a maximum penalty of five years in prison and a fine of up to $250,000, or both. A conviction for Possession of a Firearm by a Prohibited Person carries a maximum penalty of 15 years in prison and a fine of up to $250,000, or both.

Tamayo-Torres was previously arrested on the complaint in San Diego on November 25, 2024, and he remains detained pending a detention hearing in the District of Arizona.  An indictment is simply a method by which a person is charged with criminal activity and raises no inference of guilt. An individual is presumed innocent until evidence is presented to a jury that establishes guilt beyond a reasonable doubt.

The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, Phoenix Field Division, and the United States Secret Service, Phoenix Field Office, are conducting the investigation in this case, with valuable assistance provided by the United States Marshals Service and the United States Attorney’s Office in the Southern District of California. The United States Attorney’s Office, District of Arizona, Phoenix, is handling the prosecution.
 

CASE NUMBER:           CR-24-2063-PHX-SMB
RELEASE NUMBER:    2024-180_Tamayo-Torres

 

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For more information on the U.S. Attorney’s Office, District of Arizona, visit http://www.justice.gov/usao/az/
Follow the U.S. Attorney’s Office, District of Arizona, on X @USAO_AZ for the latest news.

Contact

Public Affairs
Zachry Stoebe
Telephone: (602) 514-7413
zachry.stoebe@usdoj.gov

Updated December 20, 2024

Topics
Violent Crime
Voting and Elections
Press Release Number: 2024-180_Tamayo-Torres