Homeless man admits threatening to blow up Flathead County courthouse

MISSOULA – A homeless man with ties to Kalispell admitted today that he threatened to blow up the Flathead County courthouse, U.S. Attorney Kurt Alme said.

Kermit “Ty” Poulson, 46, pleaded guilty to interstate communication of a threat to damage property by means of fire or explosive, which carries a maximum term of imprisonment of ten years, a potential fine of $250,000, and up to three years of supervised release.

U.S. Magistrate Judge Kathleen L. DeSoto presided and District Judge Dana L. Christensen will determine any sentence after considering the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors. Sentencing was set for September 18, 2025. Poulson was detained pending further proceedings.

The government alleged in court documents that on April 25, 2023, an attorney in Flathead County, Montana received the following email from Gmail account jerryleebishipjr@gmail.com:

The attorney reported receiving the email to the FBI and disclosed that he/she had previously represented defendant Poulson in a matter in Kalispell. The attorney recalled Poulson had a history of making similar threats.

The FBI obtained subscriber information from Google for Gmail account jerryleebishopjr@gmail.com, which listed another associated Gmail account of typoulsonia@gmail.com. The FBI obtained subscriber information for Gmail account typoulsonia@gmail.com, which named the subscriber of that account as Poulson. Criminal records checks show Poulson was previously the subject of an FBI investigation in Portland, Oregon. In that case, he was investigated, arrested, and convicted of threatening to set the Portland Mayor’s house on fire with Molotov cocktails. See United States v. Poulson, Case No. 3:18-CR-00622-SI-1 (D. Or. 2018). He also claimed in that case that he had ties to Antifa.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Jeff Starnes is prosecuting the case. The investigation was conducted by the FBI.

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