TRAVIS COUNTY, Texas — A 31-year-old Minnesota man accused of threatening to kill President Joe Biden and Elon Musk was arrested and charged in Austin last weekend, according to records.
Justin Mathew McCauley's wife called their local police department in Minnesota when her husband told her that he was going to Texas and wasn't ever coming back. She told authorities that he left his phone so he couldn't be tracked. She said he left in a truck with Minnesota plates.
The allegations
According to Travis County authorities, they got a tip from Tesla security that one of their employees who worked in Minnesota had threatened to kill Biden and Musk.
Screenshots of McCauley's social media posts showed that he posted, "I will arrive in Texas, where the war has began on many fronts @X, @Tesla. @JoeBiden @X @Tesla @Elonmusk, I am planning to Kill all of you."
Authorities said McCauley was pulled over in Oklahoma on Friday evening. He told the officers that he wanted to talk to the president. According to court documents, when he was asked why he wanted to talk to Biden, McCauley said, "Wouldn't you want to talk to the president if you knew you were going to die tomorrow?"
On Sunday afternoon, McCauley was taken into custody during a traffic stop along I-35 in Austin. He told deputies that he was planning to go to the Tesla gigafactory to try to get ahold of Musk.
"Due to the online threat, his deliberate actions of traveling across the country toward the Austin Tesla gigafactory, his posted online intention to kill the president, Elon Musk, X, and Tesla, the affiant does believe that Justin did place the public or substantial group of the public in fear of serious bodily injury," court documents read.
He was arrested and charged with making a terroristic threat. According to Travis County records, he was being held on a $20,000 bond.