RALEIGH– The United States Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of North Carolina announces that a Criminal Complaint was filed against GARRETT GRIMSLEY, age 27, of Cary, charging him with Transmitting a Threat in Interstate Commerce to Injure the Person of Another. GRIMSLEY appeared before U.S. Magistrate Judge Robert T. Numbers, II today for his initial appearance.
According to the affidavit filed with the Criminal Complaint, on February 19, 2017, GRIMSLEY posted an online public message stating “don’t go to Cary tomorrow.” In a subsequent private message conversation, GRIMSLEY told a cooperating witness: “For too long the kuffar [non-Muslims] have spit in our faces and trampled our rights. This cannot continue. I cannot speak of anything. Say your dua [prayers], sleep, and watch the news tomorrow. It will only be the beginning . . .”
According to the affidavit, law enforcement officers identified GRIMSLEY’s apartment in Cary as the location from which the messages were sent. A search warrant executed at the apartment resulted in the recovery of an AK-47 assault rifle, four 30-round magazines, and approximately 340 rounds of 7.62 millimeter ammunition.
If convicted, the maximum penalty for this offense is 5 years imprisonment and a $250,000 fine.
The charge and allegations contained in the Criminal Complaint are merely accusations. The defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty in a court of law.
The case is being investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the Cary Police Department, and the North Carolina State Bureau of Investigation.