Man charged with repeated death threats against Salt Lake County officials

SALT LAKE CITY — A man is facing charges after police say he repeatedly made threatening phone calls to Salt Lake County officials, according to a charging document from the U.S. Attorney's Office.

Ryan Gregory Bracken, 44, of West Valley City, was arrested on April 4 after he allegedly called Salt Lake County authorities 32 times in April alone, according to the indictment.

The office stated that on April 1, Bracken called the Salt Lake County Recorder's Office and accused the Salt Lake County Recorder and an employee of treason. As alleged, “Bracken emphasized that the penalty for treason was death.”

The indictment states that prior to the voicemail, Bracken made repeated phone calls to the SLCRO, with his calls becoming “increasingly verbally abusive and threatening.”

On April 2, Bracken reportedly called the Salt Lake County Sheriff's Office to speak to the sheriff about a “fraudulent” sale of his property. He referenced an impending foreclosure and sale of his property. Bracken called this a criminal act and threatened to “open fire” on the first person who showed up on his property to drive him off, citing a specific weapon.

Later that day, Bracken repeatedly threatened to hold the sheriff responsible for treason if his property was auctioned off and threatened to kill her, the indictment says.

Bracken is charged with five counts of stalking and one count of interstate communication threatening. His first court date is scheduled for August 27 at 11 a.m.

An accusation is merely an allegation, and all defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.