Man arrested, charged with threatening to kill a Minnesota state senator
A Hubbard County man was arrested and charged after threatening to kill a Minnesota state senator on Facebook.
Court documents filed on Wednesday state the Minnesota State Patrol were investigating a threat posted by John Tobias, saying that he would "kill every one of you treasonous [expletive] immediately" if he did not get money back that he claims he lost during the 2020 COVID shutdown.
Court documents go on to say that Tobias then called the Minnesota Attorney General's Office asking for something to be done about "Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz 'unconstitutionally' shutting down the state" during the pandemic.
The state patrol contacted Hubbard County deputies regarding Tobias. Court documents state investigators there were already familiar with Tobias after speaking with him regarding similar threats he made in January.
The charging documents state that investigators searched Tobias' residence on Tuesday and found an arsenal of guns and 45 boxes of ammunition.
Tobias was taken into custody. During an interview with law enforcement, Tobias admitted to making the threat on Facebook. He also told investigators that "he did not have any intention of killing anyone, but admitted he was trying to get people's attention," according to court records.
In late 2025, Lt. Col. Jeremy Geiger of the state patrol, who oversees Capitol security, told a panel of lawmakers that threats to lawmakers had doubled between 2024 and 2025.
Tobias made his first court appearance Wednesday morning and is expected back in court early next month.