Man Sent Threatening Emails Referencing the “Unabomber.”
A San Fernando Valley man was found guilty today of sending threatening emails to the FBI, including threats to bomb the FBI’s Los Angeles Field Office and references to the infamous “Unabomber.”
Mark William Anten, 52, of Sun Valley, was convicted on two counts of threats by interstate communication. He has been in federal custody since December 2023.
During the three-day trial, evidence showed that from July 2023 to December 2023, Anten sent a series of increasingly threatening messages to the FBI. These culminated in two explicit threats to bomb the FBI field office in Westwood.
“Law enforcement officers put their lives on the line to keep our community safe and therefore deserve our thanks and respect,” said United States Attorney Martin Estrada. “Those who threaten the FBI and other law enforcement officers ignore the daily sacrifices these officers make to protect us and undermine the rule of law. We will continue to stand with our law enforcement partners.”
“Even after being warned, Mr. Anten doubled down on his threats to murder FBI employees,” said Krysti Hawkins, the Acting Assistant Director in Charge of the FBI’s Los Angeles Field Office. “The FBI will not tolerate credible death threats to individuals or institutions and, as evidenced during the trial, neither did the jury.”
Anten’s emails included repeated references to Theodore John Kaczynski, the “Unabomber,” whose 20-year bombing campaign killed three people and injured nearly two dozen more. Kaczynski was convicted of federal crimes and died in a federal prison last year.
On November 20, 2023, two FBI task force officers interviewed Anten in front of his residence. Anten admitted to sending the previous threatening communications and was admonished to stop contacting agents. Despite this warning, his conduct escalated.
On December 5, 2023, Anten sent an email to FBI agents stating, “I AM THE UNABOMBER” and “I WILL UNABOMB THE LOS ANGELES FBI HQ.” The next day, he sent another email saying, “I can go on a mass murder spree. In fact it would be very explainable by your actions,” and concluded with, “you ain’t getting away with this one,” signing it “SuperMax or Death.”
Anten also sent an email with a photograph showing the results of an internet search for “how to make a dirty bomb.” Later that day, he visited the FBI’s Los Angeles Field Office and emailed agents that he would continue to do so. Surveillance footage confirmed his presence at the location.
United States District Judge Wesley L. Hsu has scheduled a sentencing hearing for September 13. Anten faces a statutory maximum sentence of five years in federal prison for each count.
The FBI investigated the case, and Assistant United States Attorneys Clifford D. Mpare and Kedar S. Bhatia of the General Crimes Section are prosecuting it.
