A Florida man has been charged with making threatening phone calls to MacDill Air Force Base in Tampa, two days after a suspicious package was found outside a gate. The 35-year-old from Palm Harbor was charged with making a threat in a call to the base on March 18, according to a criminal complaint filed in Tampa federal court. He was arrested on Monday.
The complaint states that the man called the base twice on the morning of March 18 and made threatening statements to those who answered, apparently referring to the suspicious package discovered on March 16. The base was locked down and everyone was ordered to shelter in place for several hours.
Authorities traced the caller’s phone number and used cell site data to corroborate his location in the days leading up to the call. The complaint notes that the man has a history of making similar threats. He was interviewed and subsequently taken to a mental health facility under Florida’s Baker Act, which allows for involuntary detention for up to three days.
The FBI said on Friday that the suspicious package contained “possible energetic materials,” with further analysis ongoing. MacDill Air Force Base, which houses the U.S. Central Command, has been on heightened alert since the war in Iran began.
