A Colorado Springs man was arrested by the FBI Tuesday on suspicion of writing a “Declaration of War” against the Trump administration, threatening “newsworthy killings” that would begin on Thursday.

Among those threatened in the document was billionaire Tesla CEO Elon Musk, as well as “owners, drivers and occupants of Tesla Swasticars.” 

The man, identified as Carl Howard Payne Jr., 58, was taken into custody, according to a neighbor interviewed by The Gazette. 

The neighbor said an FBI agent approached a house on Picket Drive in the Garden Ranch neighborhood with assault rifles drawn. The neighbor said they did not hear any shots fired, and that agents stayed several hours conducting interviews.  

The Denver office of the FBI confirmed that agents had been in the area, involved in “court-authorized law enforcement activity.”

Court documents obtained by The Gazette state that FBI agents found a .40-caliber Smith & Wesson handgun and two rifles in the residence. 

The criminal complaint against Payne accuses him of sending interstate threats. If found guilty, Payne could face five years in prison, a $250,000 fine or both and three years’ supervised release. His first  court appearance was Wednesday. He is next scheduled in court for a detention hearing on April 22.  

Court documents also state that Payne denied sending the threatening messages, when he was interviewed by the FBI.

Records show Payne’s only previous brush with the law was a lapsed vehicle registration. 

The threat document included a long list of grievances directed at President Donald Trump and his administration, but limited specific threats of violence to Tesla owners and the company’s owner. Labeled “Operation: Swasticar,” the document warns of “terminations” to take place “at their homes, on the road, while shopping or at Nazi charging stations,” with the final objective to be the death of Musk. 

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Musk has attracted considerable attention in recent months for his role in the Trump administration as the head of the Department of Government Efficiency, being alternately praised or vilified for multiple cuts to federal agencies. 

Copies of the threat were sent to several news agencies, with mail copies sent to several insurance companies, with an added line of text suggesting the companies cancel all comprehensive insurance coverage for Tesla vehicles. 

One line in the document, “We are Luigi. We Are One (sic),” and the sending of the document to insurance companies seems to refer to Luigi Mangione, the man accused of killing the CEO of United Healthcare in December.