SLC Times

A federal grand jury in Salt Lake City returned a superseding indictment on August 21, 2024, charging a Salt Lake County man with stalking. The individual was arrested on April 4, 2024, following accusations of making repeated threatening phone calls to the Salt Lake County Sheriff’s Office and other government offices.

According to court documents, Ryan Gregory Bracken, 44, of West Valley City, Utah, called the Salt Lake County Recorder’s Office on April 1, 2024. In a voicemail, he accused the Salt Lake County Recorder and an employee of treason. As alleged, Bracken emphasized that the penalty for treason is death. Prior to this voicemail, Bracken had made several phone calls to the Recorder’s Office that allegedly became increasingly abusive and threatening.

On April 2, 2024, Bracken contacted the Salt Lake County Sheriff’s Office regarding what he described as a “fraudulent Sheriff’s sale” on his property and labeled it a criminal act. He threatened to “open fire” on anyone who came to evict him and mentioned possessing a 7.62 millimeter firearm. In another call that day, Bracken threatened that if the Sheriff’s sale occurred, he would hold the Sheriff responsible for treasonous acts and stated she would "swing from a rope."

Information Technology specialists with Salt Lake County government revealed that Bracken called various county offices—including the Sheriff’s Office and Assessor’s Office—32 times in April 2024 alone.

Bracken faces five counts of stalking and one count of interstate communication of threats. His initial court appearance on the superseding indictment is scheduled for August 27, 2024 at 11:00 a.m., before a U.S. Magistrate Judge at the Orrin G. Hatch United States District Courthouse in downtown Salt Lake City.

U.S. Attorney Trina A. Higgins of the District of Utah made the announcement.

The case is being investigated jointly by Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) and the Salt Lake County Sheriff’s Office.

The U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Utah is prosecuting the case.

An indictment is merely an allegation; all defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.

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