Brian Biff Baker Charged In Assassination Plot Of Utah Gov. Gary Herbert

SALT LAKE CITY -- A Utah man who police say threatened to assassinate Gov. Gary Herbert and who conducted surveillance on the governor's mansion is facing multiple felony charges.

Brian Biff Baker was charged Friday in Salt Lake City's 3rd District Court with felony counts of drug and weapons possession, along with a misdemeanor count of threatening elected officials.

Baker sent text messages to a friend on Feb. 2 stating that he was lying in the bushes and intended to kill the governor, court records said. The recipient of the texts reported the messages to police and Baker was arrested the same day, the records said.

In his messages, the 52-year-old Baker said he had been casing the place and that authorities would utter an expletive "when the explosions start ... should be funny as hell, it's a dangerous mission," a police affidavit filed in support of the charges states.

The texts also included a threat to kill a police officer who had driven past the mansion more than once during Baker's period of surveillance the affidavit states.

Police also said that Herbert was at home during the time Baker was conducting surveillance and was removed from the premises for safety reasons.

Investigators enlisted the help of the message recipient to get Baker to come to a nearby gas station, where he was arrested. Police found containers of ammunition, a large knife, explosives, illegal fireworks and small plastic bags of methamphetamine in Baker's truck, court papers said.

Security camera video from the area around the mansion also showed Baker conducting his surveillance, the papers stated.

Baker was being held in the Salt Lake County jail. Bail is set at $25,007. It wasn't immediately clear whether he had an attorney.

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Comments

[yrn2Bfree]

04:15 AM on 02/14/2012

Maybe when your "leaders" continue to engage in behavior that costs you your lively hood and the ability to support your family, it triggers something inside that causes you to do things you normally would not do. How about we bring all the corrupt government officials to justice for their illegal behavior and then most people will not try to murder them. Imagine a world without fraud or crime!
I guess we would have little to debate if everything ran smoothly.

[angrycitizen80]

01:45 AM on 02/14/2012

approved

[angrycitizen80]

01:44 AM on 02/14/2012

pending

[angrycitizen80]

01:44 AM on 02/14/2012

anytime you censor truth, you alter reality...

[angrycitizen80]

01:41 AM on 02/14/2012

wow, how long does it take for a comment with no curse words to be approved

[angrycitizen80]

01:38 AM on 02/14/2012

there's not a whole alot of time left for people to continue being ignorant. we're on the precipice of something extremely MAJOR happening this year...

[grampz05]

11:45 PM on 02/13/2012

This probably won't be widely reported by the lame stream press. After all, Gov. Herbert is a Republican Governor.

[99 Percent]

01:07 AM on 02/14/2012

Republican, I figured as soon as i read headline,,,,, don't condone what he did but sure do understand it

[dsmith4308111]

01:35 AM on 02/14/2012

He gets enough coverage for being a repugnican

[dinamo]

09:37 PM on 02/13/2012

Dem job

[sugarpops]

01:14 PM on 02/14/2012

Prove it or be exposed for the LIAR you are.

[jchandjd]

08:47 PM on 02/13/2012

The article does not mention WHY he wanted to kill him. What is this man's motivation?

[grant06]

01:44 AM on 02/14/2012

Crazy would be my guess.

[Dan Crabtree]

08:43 PM on 02/13/2012

A democrat thing through out history..All assasins are left wing extremist.

[GOODDOC1]

12:11 AM on 02/14/2012

Oswald was a left wing extremist? Who'd a thunk it?

[jep121212]

12:14 AM on 02/14/2012

YOU LIE

[99 Percent]

01:08 AM on 02/14/2012

Dan Crabtree-R lies alot, read other posts on other stories he writes ,what an imbisol!

[MyNinja]

04:54 PM on 02/13/2012

and small plastic bags of methamphetamine - we found the cause...

[bdaved]

05:32 PM on 02/13/2012

When people smoke pot, they can have bad ideas and nothing happens, because, well, they're smoking pot. When people do crystal meth and have bad ideas they might just go ahead and do something about them.

[Dan Jack]

04:29 PM on 02/13/2012

When you have highly charged political times such as these, and talking heads on the radio on both sides saying, in not so many words, to do what this man is accused of, the true crazies hear this and attempt to kill people, it is a sad truth, but it is there and will always be there.

[Bobby Whyaskin]

04:16 PM on 02/13/2012

Hmmm, the judge or the DA must not think much of Gov. Herbert - only $25K for bail?

[Andy Osinski]

07:41 PM on 02/13/2012

$25 k is a bit low, but $25,007????
WTF???
What was the $7 for???

[Ty2010]

09:40 PM on 02/13/2012

007, I'm guessing an inside joke.

[99 Percent]

01:10 AM on 02/14/2012

25,000 for state and $7 towards paying employees,,,,,,

[Tunghoy]

04:14 PM on 02/13/2012

Bail of $25 thousand? Are they kidding? I know someone who was recently arrested for saying inappropriate things to what he thought was a 12-year old girl in a chat room (was really a cop), and his bail was $200 thousand, and with no 10% option. I understand that part of a bail calculation is a person's income and assets, but still........ I guess they see things differently in Utah.

[Ty2010]

09:41 PM on 02/13/2012

Maybe the judge doesn't like the governor?

[Priori Decoherence]

04:14 PM on 02/13/2012

OK Three observations:

1. The police and district attorney obviously did not take Mr. Baker as a serious threat otherwise no bail would have been set, let alone $25,007.
2. $25,007. What is the $7 for? Just in cast he could scrape together $25,006?
3. Do not post a live feed of your illegal activities; unless, you want to entertain the rest of us with how stupid you are.