OMAK, Wash. — A 23-year-old Omak man was arrested Wednesday in connection to death threats targeted at Spokane County Sheriff Ozzie Knezovich and other Washington sheriffs.
Okanogan County Sheriff Tony Hawley said a search warrant was served at Jaydin Ledford’s home at 11:50 a.m.
Hawley said the investigation started on Feb. 4 after death threats were posted on Facebook towards the Sheriffs of Washington State who spoke out against I-1639. One threat said, “I-1639 is law. Sheriffs that are non-compliant will be shot. By me,” according to Hawley. He said another threat specifically mentioned Knezovich saying, “Ozzie Knezovich is gonna get a bullet in his skull.” Another said, "I really want to kill a police officer."
The case was investigated by the FBI and Joint Terrorism Task Force along with Omak Police and Okanogan County Sheriff’s Detectives.
As of 3:40 p.m., Hawley said Ledford was being transported to a federal facility in Spokane. He was initially charged in Okanogan County for harassment/threats to kill and intimidating a public servant. Hawley said those charges will likely be dropped when the FBI files their own charges.
Knezovich released a statement about the arrest Wednesday afternoon saying, "I am very pleased the JTTF took these threats seriously and conducted an investigation resulting in today’s arrest. I would also like to thank Okanogan County Sheriff Hawley and his Deputies for their assistance during this investigation.”