Man arrested for threatening to blow up courthouse

Associated Press - December 4, 2009 10:34 PM ET

CEDAR RAPIDS, Iowa (AP) - Police say a man who twice ran for the Cedar Rapids City Council has been arrested for allegedly threatening to blow up the Linn County Courthouse.

Officers say 43-year-old Robert Daniel Bates told mental health staff at St. Luke's Hospital in Cedar Rapids that he was going to buy explosives in Missouri and then make national news by blowing up the courthouse.

Police arrested Bates Thursday night at his home. He is charged with two aggravated misdemeanor counts of making threats and first-degree harassment.

Bates ran for the Cedar Rapids City Council in 2005 and again this past November, when he received more than 2,000 votes.

Police escorted Bates out of a city council meeting earlier this year for allegedly using profanity.

Information from: KWWL-TV, http://www.kwwl.com