An Alabama man is facing charges in federal court after he allegedly texted bomb threats to employees at the Bangor International Airport.
Robert Wicks, 23, of Decatur, Alabama, was indicted Wednesday on one felony count of false information and hoaxes in U.S. District Court of Maine in Bangor. He was arrested May 21 in Alabama, according to court records.
Wicks is accused of texting a total of 107 messages to two employees of American Airlines at the Bangor International Airport on Feb. 13. Those messages went to non-public phone numbers and indicated Wicks knew personal details of the employees, according to a probable cause affidavit.
The messages said Wicks had “guns and shit” and plans to “definitely do a bomb (bomb emoji) threat” at the airport the next day at 10:50 a.m., the affidavit said. The messages also said the phones had been infected with viruses and outlined how he could see people moving around the airport.
Wicks then allegedly called the airport around 5 a.m. the next day and demanded to speak to law enforcement conducting the investigation. He said there were timers on the bombs and that there was a bomb outside the building. He also said if phones were not given to agents, “those bombs are going to go boom,” according to the affidavit.
The airport connected Wicks to the FBI. In that conversation, Wicks said he made the calls “as a prank” for Discord, according to the affidavit. Also during that call, Wicks made a call to Dulles International Airport, asked to speak to American Airlines and then said “there’s a bomb that’s going to go off in 15 minutes,” the affidavit said.
On Feb. 14, police saw an American Airlines employee on a video chat in the Bangor airport. After an interview with her, they learned she was in a long-distance relationship with a man she met on TikTok, who she knew as Trey Live. Police figured out that the man was Wicks.
The woman had to work late the night before because of the bomb threat and complained to Wicks, the affidavit said. He had also stolen money from her bank account.
When FBI agents interviewed Wicks the evening of Feb. 14, he admitted to making the threats, the affidavit said.
The threats were given considerable credence because they were sent to non-public numbers and knew details about activity at the airport. The FBI, Federal Air Marshals Service, Bangor Police Department and Army National Guard were among the agencies called to help.
There was concern the sender was an “insider” who had security access and credentials, the affidavit said.
The threats delayed flights on Feb. 13 and 14, according to the affidavit.
