BANNOCK COUNTY, Idaho — A Pocatello man has been arrested and charged in connection with a bomb threat that forced the evacuation of the Idaho State Capitol complex in Boise earlier this month.
The incident began on the morning of Oct. 8, when the Pocatello Police Department responded to reports of a 58-year-old man making multiple threatening phone calls to a local property management company. During these calls, the man allegedly made statements threatening violence, including threats to “blow them up.”
Approximately 20 minutes later, the Idaho State Capitol complex in Boise received multiple threatening calls from the same phone number. In the first call, the male caller claimed a bomb had been planted in the building. Employees were quickly evacuated as a precaution. Two additional voicemails containing threatening language were received shortly after.
Pocatello Police located the man later that morning and took him into protective custody. A joint investigation involving Pocatello Police and Idaho State Police detectives linked the man to the Capitol threats.
On Oct. 14, investigators confirmed the man’s identity matched the voice on the Capitol threat recordings. He was arrested on Oct. 16 and booked into the Bannock County Sheriff’s Office jail on probable cause for one felony count of false reports of explosives in public or private places.
No explosives were found at the Capitol, and authorities have confirmed there is no ongoing threat to public safety. The Idaho State Police continues to investigate the incident. Troopers thanked the Pocatello Police Department and the Idaho Department of Administration for their coordinated efforts in resolving the case.