A Texas man, Taylor Bullard, 34, was arrested on Friday for allegedly sending threatening messages to an unnamed debt collection agency via email. The incident stemmed from a disputed debt of $543, where Bullard claimed he had already paid the debt to Capital One multiple times.
In the email sent on December 12, Bullard expressed frustration, stating, 'This debt is not valid. Call me before I show up to one of their locations with a machete and gasoline.' He also accused the debt collection agency of hindering his ability to purchase a home, threatening to target their executive team personally.
The FBI traced the threatening email to Bullard's residence and discovered his history of making threats, including a previous incident in 2017 where he allegedly threatened to release anthrax at a company's event. In 2022, he left a voicemail threatening to open fire with an AK-47 at another company.
During an interview with the FBI, Bullard admitted to making threats in the past as a means to seek attention and make companies 'sweat,' rather than intending to cause harm to himself or others.
Bullard now faces one count of sending threatening interstate communications, which carries a potential sentence of up to five years in prison. He was released on a $25,000 bond following his arrest.
This incident comes in the wake of heightened concerns within the corporate sector following the fatal shooting of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson by Luigi Mangione, who expressed anger towards the health insurance industry and 'corporate greed' in general.
