WEST VALLEY CITY, Utah, May 1, 2019 (Gephardt Daily) — A man was arrested for allegedly making threats after the choir sang about “Zion” at a service of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in West Valley City.
A probable cause statement from the Third District Court in Salt Lake County said Gary Mills, 44, is facing a charge of threat of violence, a second-degree felony. He was arrested Monday and transported to Salt Lake County Jail with his bail set $10,000.
An officer was dispatched Monday after a report of threats at the church, at 4251 S. 4800 West. The officer made contact with the suspect and witness at England Trucking at 4701 W. 2100 South, the statement said.
“I made contact with the witness who advised he had gone to an LDS church service with a group of students from the trucking company Sunday,” the statement said. “The witness advised while sitting in the service, a hymn about Zion was being sung by the choir. The witness observed the suspect get up and leave the service.”
The witness followed the suspect, later identified as Mills, outside of the church. The witness said he observed Mills to be agitated and asked him what was wrong.
“Gary proceed to throw his hat on the ground in anger and told the witness he was mad about the church preaching Zionism,” the statement said. “The witness said Gary said it was a conspiracy theory from the Government, the Jews stole the land from the Palestinians, the Jews control most of the world through central banking. Gary told the witness ‘I would be ready to take up arms and bomb federal buildings.'”
The witness said it was those words that made him “scared and nervous,” the statement said. The witness reported this statement to police and officers then contacted the FBI, who made contact with Mills on scene.
Mills was read his Miranda rights and he agreed to speak with officers.
“Gary did speak about not watching mainstream media and only being interested in Iranian or Russian TV through YouTube,” the statement said.
“Due to Mills making a threat to use a bomb on federal buildings, which would be defined as a weapon of mass destruction, I determined Gary to be charged with terroristic threats 76-5-107, which is a felony of the second degree,” the statement said.
The FBI will be watching Mills and will investigate further, the statement said.
The witness has written a statement and is willing to testify to the things said by Mills, the statement said.
