PROVO, Utah — The family of the Provo man shot and killed by FBI agents after allegedly making violent threats against President Biden and others called him a "good and decent man."
In a statement Thursday, Craig Robertson's family attempted to shed a different light on the person they knew as a father and brother.
"The Craig Robertson we knew was a kind and generous person who was always willing to assist another in need, even when advanced age, limited mobility, and other physical challenges made it more difficult and painful for him to do so," the statement began.
Robertson's family added that they were "shocked and devastated" by the shooting, echoing his neighbors who said they never saw the side of the 75-year-old man who shared violent and threatening posts on social media.
The shooting occurred as agents attempted to serve arrest and search warrants Wednesday morning. Documents filed in U.S. District Court allege Robertson threatened to "inflict bodily harm" on Biden during his current visit to Utah. The documents showcased numerous posts in which Robertson threatened to shoot Biden, FBI agents and New York County District Attorney Alvin Bragg.
"As an elderly–and largely homebound–man, there was very little he could do but exercise his First Amendment right to free speech and voice his protest in what has become the public square of our age–the internet and social media," the family statement read. "Though his statements were intemperate at times, he has never, and would never, commit any act of violence against another human being over a political or philosophical disagreement."
The family said they "hold no personal animosity towards those individuals who took part in the ill-fated events" that left Robertson dead.
FOX 13 News learned the 1966 Orem High School graduate had only one previous criminal conviction when he pleaded no contest to disorderly conduct in 1997 and fined $100.
"From his, social media postings, it's clear that he not only had possession of firearms but had expressed interest in being able to use them in various ways to include against anybody that might come to his home to stop him from what he was doing, at least based on what I've seen," said former FBI special agent Frank Montoya, Jr.
Montoya spent 26-years in seven different field offices for the FBI and says the kind of threats Robertson made on social media are becoming more of the norm.
"Threats happen all the time," he said, "they're made all the time against the president and other government officials, and the challenge is separating the ones that are just nonsensical from the ones that could lead to this kind of violence."
With law enforcement and FBI agents remaining at the house in Provo throughout Thursday, Montoya spoke about what could come next in the process of the investigation.
"One of the things that they may be looking at is, does he have any ties to anyone else who is making these kinds of threats or could potentially make these kinds of threats, and in terms of a conspiracy or an organization or even a loose affiliation of individuals that not only think the same way but have intentions to act the same way."
