PITTSBURGH — A man from Pittsburgh's Homewood neighborhood admitted Thursday that he threatened to blow up the federal building in Downtown Pittsburgh and the FBI headquarters building in Washington, D.C.
Albert Morris Jr., 61, pleaded guilty in federal court in Pittsburgh to making a threat by phone to destroy a building, a felony.
Morris had been initially arrested by local authorities on state charges, but the case was later referred to the U.S. attorney's office, which brought an indictment last May.
Morris called in the threats on Feb. 1, 2021, saying he would blow up the William S. Moorhead Federal Building. Dispatchers said he called a second time and threatened to blow up the J. Edgar Hoover Building in Washington, which houses the FBI.
Police in Pittsburgh shut down streets and evacuated the federal building. No bombs were found.
Dispatchers provided an address for the caller and police tracked it to a house in Homewood, where officers and federal agents arrested Morris.
According to a complaint, he told police he'd made the calls because he said the government owed him money.
A federal magistrate judge had released Morris on bond after his indictment, but prosecutors said he violated the conditions of his release earlier this month while living at Washington City Mission in Washington, Pennsylvania.
On Feb. 8, prosecutors said, he called the Pentagon and conveyed a threat to kill everyone there and their families.
That threat prompted a response by the Pentagon Force Protection Agency and local law enforcement.
The U.S. attorney's office is seeking revocation of Morris's bond because of that conduct.
