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Man accused of threatening to kill President Trump pleads not guilty

Posted at 6:42 PM, Jan 04, 2018
and last updated 2018-01-05 09:21:35-05

SALT LAKE CITY — A man accused of threatening to kill President Trump and shoot up a movie theater appeared in federal court.

Travis Luke Dominguez, 33, appeared before a U.S. Magistrate Judge on Thursday where he pleaded not guilty to an 11-count indictment. In court, attorneys revealed that Dominguez had made some admissions to law enforcement about making the threats, but also did not have any weapons when he was arrested.

Dominguez was indicted by a federal grand jury on Wednesday, accused of making numerous threats to shoot up a South Jordan movie theater, some Midvale businesses and assassinate President Trump during his Dec. 4 visit to Utah. However, the indictment also suggested that he did not have the means to carry out the threats.

“Certainly, he still made them. We were unaware that he was about to commit them… but certainly we are very concerned that he made them in the first place,” assistant U.S. Attorney Jared Bennett told FOX 13 outside of court.

In court, Dominguez’s court appointed attorney raised questions about his mental competency but argued for him to be released from custody under GPS monitoring, and to have him cut off internet and phone access.

U.S. Magistrate Judge Paul Warner refused.

“The indictment is troubling to this court because of the nature of the charges made. Not only to the president, but the people of the state of Utah,” Judge Warner said, referencing threat of shooting up a movie theater. “The safety of the community is important.”

He ordered Dominguez detained pending a March trial date, but suggested attorneys request a mental competency evaluation.

“It’s clear at a minimum there should be some type of mental evaluation done here,” Judge Warner said.

Dominguez faces more than 100 years in federal prison if convicted of all the charges.