{"id":1998238,"date":"2023-08-11T18:21:02","date_gmt":"2023-08-11T22:21:02","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/utah-man-shot-dead-by-fbi-agents-was-kind-person-who-posed-no-real-threat-neighbor-says\/"},"modified":"2023-08-11T18:24:09","modified_gmt":"2023-08-11T22:24:09","slug":"utah-man-shot-dead-by-fbi-agents-was-kind-person-who-posed-no-real-threat-neighbor-says","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/utah-man-shot-dead-by-fbi-agents-was-kind-person-who-posed-no-real-threat-neighbor-says\/","title":{"rendered":"Neighbor: Utah man killed by FBI agents was harmless and kind."},"content":{"rendered":"<aside class=\"mashsb-container mashsb-main mashsb-stretched\"><div class=\"mashsb-box\"><div class=\"mashsb-count mash-medium\" style=\"&quot;\"><div class=\"counts mashsbcount\">22<\/div><span class=\"mashsb-sharetext\">SHARES<\/span><\/div><div class=\"mashsb-buttons\"><a class=\"mashicon-facebook mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.conservativenewsdaily.net%2Fbreaking-news%2Futah-man-shot-dead-by-fbi-agents-was-kind-person-who-posed-no-real-threat-neighbor-says%2F\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Facebook<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-twitter mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/intent\/tweet?text=&amp;url=https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=1998238&amp;via=ConservNewsDly\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Twitter<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-subscribe mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"#\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Subscribe<\/span><\/a><div class=\"onoffswitch2 mash-medium mashsb-noshadow\" style=\"display:none\"><\/div><\/div>\n            <\/div>\n                <div style=\"clear:both\"><\/div><\/aside>\n            <!-- Share buttons by mashshare.net - Version: 4.0.47--><h2>The Tragic Story \u2062of Craig Robinson: A Pillar of the Community<\/h2>\n<p>The 75-year-old \u200dUtah man who was shot dead by FBI agents\u2064 on Wednesday morning for <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/fbi-shoots-and-kills-utah-man-who-posted-online-threats-against-biden-and-obama\/\" title=\"Utah man making online threats against Biden and Obama fatally shot by FBI.\">making online threats<\/a> against President Joe Biden and\u2064 other government officials was a \u200cpillar of his local church community and posed no real threat \u2064to anyone, a\u2063 former neighbor\u200b and friend told The Daily Wire.<\/p>\n<h3>A Shocking Turn of Events<\/h3>\n<p>Tim Rich first heard of the incident through a neighborhood \u2062Facebook group,\u200c where households \u2064posted about\u2062 hearing gunshots, \u2062and later that a SWAT team had \u2064raided the \u200bhome of his friend, Craig Robinson. Rich\u200b immediately \u201chad \u2063an inkling of what\u200d the\u200c nature\u201d \u200cof the raid was \u2014 he\u200c was Facebook \u2063friends with Robinson and had seen his\u200b posts, including one last week that Robinson had to \u201cdust off\u201d his sniper rifle in preparation for Biden\u2019s arrival in Utah for a political fundraiser.<\/p>\n<p>Rich said he mostly ignored Robinson\u2019s \u2064political rants.\u200c \u201cI just dismissed it \u2014 he\u2019s ranting again, voicing his frustrations,\u201d Rich \u2062said. \u201cI don\u2019t even know\u200d how many friends he had on Facebook; I would imagine not \u2064many and that his posts weren\u2019t going to many \u200dpeople.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Robinson\u2019s post about shooting Biden referenced his M24 sniper rifle. Other subjects of his Facebook threats included Vice President Kamala Harris\u2064 and\u2064 Attorney\u2064 General Merrick Garland. \u2062A post from September 2022 read \u201cDeath\u2062 to \u2064Joe \u2062Biden.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Rich says he was shocked when he learned the \u200cinteraction ended with the death \u200cof his friend, and believes\u2064 the choice law enforcement made to conduct an early morning raid \u2063led to\u2063 the\u200b avoidable\u200d result.<\/p>\n<p>Robinson was largely immobile \u2014 standing just about five feet six inches and weighing roughly 300 pounds \u2014 the elderly\u2063 man would hobble around \u200bwith a cane. He was known to drive \u200dto his church, which was only\u2062 about 200 yards \u2064from his home.\u200b And law enforcement presumably knew all of \u2062these details \u2014 as\u200c Robinson\u200b had been under surveillance for months, and\u200d two agents had already interacted with him before the fatal \u200dWednesday morning raid.<\/p>\n<p>Rich believes\u200c that \u201cbusting in\u201d to the \u2063home of a man that\u200d they knew had a defensive mindset was \u2063reckless.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIt seems like \u200ba much \u2064lower\u2063 risk to detain\u200c or arrest in the \u200dmiddle of the day as he\u2019s hobbling out \u200dof \u200bhis vehicle or\u200b in a parking lot somewhere,\u201d \u200dRich said.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIf they were concerned\u200c his speech was \u2063going to \u2064turn into action, they \u200dcould have waited to\u2062 see if he was even \u200cgoing to leave \u200bhis\u2064 property that day,\u201d Rich explained. \u201cI\u2019d bet my life Craig would have dropped an <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/jackie-cushman-make-your-own-way\/\" title=\"Jackie Cushman: Make Your Own Way\">ill-advised joke<\/a> \u2064or two,\u200b and nothing else ever\u2063 would have happened.\u201d<\/p>\n<p><strong><a href=\"https:\/\/onelink.to\/dwapp\">CLICK HERE TO \u200dGET \u2064THE DAILY WIRE APP<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n<p>\u201cAt worst, \u2062they had 45 miles\u200d between\u2063 Craig\u200c and the president, more than \u2062enough time to get better \u200binformation as to his intent \u2014 \u2064beyond\u2064 just his online words \u2014 before taking \u2062such forceful \u2064action.\u201d<\/p>\n<h3>A Kind and\u2062 Generous Man<\/h3>\n<p>The man \u200cRich \u200cknew was not a violent political extremist,\u2063 but a \u201ckind person who looked \u200cout for others, was interested to share with them his hobbies and would throw in a joke or a chuckle with every conversation.\u201d Robinson was a skilled woodworker, and\u200b would \u2064regularly \u200bgift \u200citems\u2064 to friends \u200bin the\u200c community.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cChairs \u200bfor friends \u2062and rocking horses for their kids,\u201d Rich recalled. \u201cHe always\u2063 wanted to show \u2063my kids the stuff that he was working on. I was very comfortable\u2063 around Craig and \u2063felt\u2062 that \u200dhe was somebody who cared about the people around \u2063him \u200dvery much.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Last Christmas, Robinson invited Rich to use his workshop to complete a gift he was working on \u200dfor\u2062 his wife. Robinson worked alongside him for hours building \u2062the thread spool holder, offering his expertise.<\/p>\n<p>Other neighbors who knew Robinson \u2062echo \u200bRich\u2019s perceptions \u2014 one man described Rich \u2063as a \u201cteddy bear\u201d\u200d to the Deseret News.<\/p>\n<p>Robinson\u2019s family says he was a \u201ckind and generous\u201d person \u200cwho never had \u2064any\u2063 intention, or \u2064even ability, to \u2064carry out the sorts of threats voiced on social media.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThe Craig Robertson we knew was \u200ba kind and generous person who was always \u200dwilling to assist another in \u200cneed, even when advanced age, limited mobility, and other <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/neighbors-furious-at-fbi-shooting-of-teddy-bear-utah-man-displaying-of-body-afterward\/\" title=\"Angry Neighbors Slam FBI for Shooting Utah Man, Publicly Displaying Body\">physical challenges made<\/a> it \u200dmore difficult and painful for him to do so,\u201d the family said in a statement.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cAs an \u2064elderly \u2014 \u2064and largely homebound\u2064 \u2014 man, there was very little he could do but exercise his First Amendment right to free speech and \u2064voice his\u200b protest \u2063in \u200dwhat has \u2063become the public square of \u2063our \u2064age\u2063 \u2014 the internet and social media,\u201d the family said. \u201cThough his statements were intemperate at times, he has\u2062 never, \u200cand would never, commit \u200cany act of violence \u200dagainst another human\u2064 being over a political or philosophical disagreement.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>The\u2064 FBI \u2062has not released \u200bmany details on the raid, \u2064though an <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/utah-man-shot-dead-by-fbi-agents-was-kind-person-who-posed-no-real-threat-neighbor-says\/\" title=\"Neighbor: Utah man killed by FBI agents was harmless and kind.\">unnamed law enforcement source told<\/a> The New York Times that\u2063 Robinson was armed. His family acknowledges that he \u200cwas a \u201cfirearms enthusiast,\u201d and references to his many guns were\u2064 commonplace \u2064in his threatening Facebook posts.<\/p>\n<p>In one 2022 post, Robertson said he\u2064 had a \u201cpatriotic dream\u201d about shooting California\u2019s Democrat \u2062Governor\u2064 Gavin Newsom with\u2062 his \u201csuppressed S&#038;W M&#038;P 9mm,\u201d \u2064according to the Times.<\/p>\n<p>Accounts\u200c from neighbors to the Deseret News indicate that agents used a battering ram \u200bto\u2062 bust\u200d through Robinson\u2019s \u2063door, and also entered his house through the windows. His\u2062 dead body was left outside on the concrete, covered only by\u200b a blood-soaked \u2064white sheet, \u2064the neighbors said.<\/p>\n<p>Rich says he remains in disbelief that it came to this.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI just can\u2019t get\u200c over the fact that two agents\u200d interacted with him peacefully in the \u2064parking lot, surveilled him long enough to know his mobility, \u200dand\u2062 didn\u2019t \u200ccome to the conclusion \u2064that\u200b they could easily intercept\u200b him should he leave his house,\u201d Rich \u200csaid. \u201cWe enter dangerous territory when the words we say are equated with active, physical\u2062 intent\u200d worthy of deadly force.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The 75-year-old Utah man, shot by FBI agents for online threats against President Biden, was a respected church member and harmless, according to a former neighbor. Tim Rich, who knew him well, expressed disbelief at the notion that he posed any real danger. The incident has left many questioning the actions taken.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":207,"featured_media":1998239,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mo_disable_npp":"","fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/cndimages.nyc3.digitaloceanspaces.com\/breaking-news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/IMG_2758-scaled-1.jpg","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1998238","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry"],"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/cndimages.nyc3.digitaloceanspaces.com\/breaking-news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/IMG_2758-scaled-1.jpg","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1998238","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/207"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1998238"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1998238\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/1998239"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1998238"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1998238"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1998238"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}