1 Killed After FBI Raid on Tennessee Home

1 Killed After FBI Raid on Tennessee Home
A seal reading "Department of Justice Federal Bureau of Investigation" is displayed on the J. Edgar Hoover FBI building in Washington, on Aug. 9, 2022. (Stefani Reynolds/AFP via Getty Images)
Ryan Morgan
8/17/2023
Updated:
8/17/2023
0:00

A Henderson, Tennessee, resident was killed during an FBI SWAT raid on Wednesday morning.

In a statement provided to NTD News by the FBI’s Memphis field office, the bureau announced that at around 6:40 a.m. on Wednesday, an FBI SWAT team was conducting an arrest operation when an agent-involved shooting took place.

“The subject is deceased,” the FBI said. “The FBI takes all shooting incidents involving our agents or task force members seriously. In accordance with FBI policy, the shooting incident is under review by the FBI’s Inspection Division.”

The bureau’s Memphis field office did not identify the agent or agents involved or the shooting victim, and did not specify why they were carrying out the heavily armed arrest operation.

“As this is an ongoing matter we have no further details to provide,” the bureau stated.

WBBJ reported the incident took place near the intersection of Sanford Street, Hearn Street, and Anderson Circle.

A nearby neighbor, Alex Morris, told WBBJ that he heard multiple loud bangs on the morning of the FBI SWAT raid and then heard them call out on a set of loudspeakers, words to the effect of “Come out with your hands up. We’re the FBI. We’re not going anywhere.”

“I was coming out to see what was going on and watched them bust out their windows. I reckon they got him in there,” the neighbor told WBBJ.

The FBI team was reportedly at the shooting scene for around 30 minutes before local law enforcement arrived. NTD News reached out to the Chester County Sheriff’s Office for additional details about the incident, but they did not respond by the time this article was published.

2 Deadly FBI Raids in 1 Week

This FBI-involved encounter comes a week after FBI agents were involved in another deadly shooting while carrying out a raid on a home in Provo, Utah.

At around 6:15 a.m. local time on Aug. 9, an FBI tactical team arrived at the home of 74-year-old Provo resident Craig Robertson and attempted to arrest him and execute a search warrant on his home.

With a broken window in the background, FBI agents process the home of Craig Robertson in Provo, Utah on Aug. 9, 2023. (George Frey/Getty Images)
With a broken window in the background, FBI agents process the home of Craig Robertson in Provo, Utah on Aug. 9, 2023. (George Frey/Getty Images)
Footage from the Aug. 9 raid showed FBI agents in tactical gear standing behind a tactical vehicle outside Mr. Robertson’s home, shouting commands for him to step outside. Witness Jon Michael Ossola, a neighbor of Mr. Robertson, said he heard his neighbor calling back that to the FBI agents “I haven’t broken any federal laws.” Mr. Ossola said the FBI team fired flash bangs, a non-lethal explosive device meant to stun a target, into Mr. Robertson’s house.

Mr. Robertson was killed during the raid.

FBI spokeswoman Sandra Barker subsequently reported that he had resisted arrest and pointed a .357 revolver. Ms. Barker did not provide any evidence of their claim and declined to say whether there was any photographic or video evidence showing Mr. Robertson pointing a gun at agents.

Mr. Robertson’s family members described him as “a kind and generous person who was always willing to assist another in need, even when advanced age, limited mobility, and other physical challenges made it more difficult and painful for him to do so.”

Travis Lee Clark, another acquaintance of the Air Force veteran, described him as being “frail of health” and said he relied on a wooden cane to walk. Mr. Clark said he was surprised that Mr. Robertson might be considered a serious threat. He also said Mr. Robertson “was a boomer, and he was very political and sometimes made off-color jokes ... but nothing that indicated it was a threat.”

“He believed in his right to bear arms. He believed in his right to say what he feels. When it came down to it, he knew the Lord wouldn’t have approved of killing innocent people,” said another acquaintance, Paul Searing.

In his social media posts, Mr. Robertson allegedly described his desire to see high-profile assassinations, writing, “The time is right for a presidential assassination or two. First Joe then Kamala!!!”

The FBI disclosed it had approached him in March about past threatening comments but said he allegedly told those FBI agents to go away, telling them “we’re done here” and “Don’t return without a warrant.”

In a 2018 incident, Mr. Robertson allegedly brandished a gun at Google Fiber employees who had entered his backyard without his awareness. According to a police report from the incident, the Google Fiber employees knocked on his door and rang his doorbell, but he did not answer. The Google Fiber employees then proceeded into his backyard through a public easement to access a utility pole.