A Los Angeles man has been convicted of making violent criminal threats against law enforcement, including threatening to “Unabomb” the Los Angeles FBI office.
Mark William Anten, 52, of Los Angeles’ Sun Valley neighborhood, was convicted Wednesday of two counts of making interstate threats, the Department of Justice said in a statement.
Anten, who has been in custody since his arrest in December, is accused of contacting the FBI via email and making a variety of violent threats, including boasting about his similarities to Unabomber Ted Kaczynski and saying he was working on his own manifesto.
Kaczynski, who died last year in federal prison after serving less than 30 years of multiple life sentences, carried out several bomb attacks in the United States, killing three people and wounding more than 20.
Unabomber Ted Kaczynski is escorted by U.S. marshals down the steps of the federal courthouse in Helena, Montana, June 21, 1996. (AP Photo/Elaine Thompson, File)
According to officials, Anten’s threats began in July 2023 and continued for several months.
On November 20, two FBI agents interviewed Anten at his home, where he admitted to sending the threatening emails and warned him to refrain from any further contact.
Despite this intervention, Anten’s behavior worsened, authorities said.
On Nov. 23, Anten emailed an FBI agent expressing his affinity for Kaczynski and bragging that he had been voted the person in his graduating class most likely to be “the next Unabomber,” according to the Justice Department.
On December 5, Anten sent a series of violent emails to FBI agents, threatening to “blow up” the FBI’s Los Angeles office in Westwood. The next day, he sent another email saying, “I’m open to mass murder. In fact, your actions would explain it all.”
Authorities said the emails were signed “Supermax” or “Death.” Kaczynski served most of his sentence in a “Supermax” federal prison in Colorado.
He also sent screenshots of online searches for “how to make a dirty bomb,” according to the Justice Department. The same day, Anten visited an FBI field office, which was confirmed on security camera footage, and in another email he promised to continue visiting the facility.
An undated photo from FBI.gov shows the FBI’s Los Angeles office in Westwood.
The FBI investigated the case and Anten was arrested a few weeks later. After a three-day trial that ended on Wednesday, he was convicted of racketeering.
“Even after receiving warnings, Mr. Anten continued to make increased death threats against FBI employees,” said Christy Hawkins, acting assistant director of the FBI’s Los Angeles field office. “The FBI does not tolerate credible death threats against individuals or entities, and as evidenced at trial, neither do jurors.”
U.S. Attorney Martin Estrada said those who threaten the nation’s law enforcement officers “ignore the sacrifices these officers make every day to protect us and undermine the rule of law.”
Anten is scheduled to appear in court for sentencing on September 13 and could face up to five years in federal prison on each charge.