A Salt Lake man has been indicted for threatening to murder Sen. Orrin Hatch, R-Utah.
A federal grand jury handed up an indictment against Conrad Lloyd, 41. Lloyd was arraigned in U.S. District Court Monday on a federal charge of threatening a United States official with intent "to retaliate against such official on account of the performance of official duties."Lloyd apparently made the threat over the telephone to a Hatch aide on Nov. 4. He was arrested Friday and spent the weekend in the Salt Lake County Jail.
Lloyd did not enter a plea during Monday's court appearance because he did not yet have an attorney, according to a court clerk. U.S. Magistrate Ronald Boyce scheduled a second appearance Tuesday afternoon. A court clerk spent part of Tuesday morning looking for an attorney to represent Lloyd during Tuesday's arraignment.
LLoyd is a freight handler for North West Transport Services. He has worked for the company 22 years, said Scott Jenkins, Lloyd's supervisor.
In recent years, Lloyd has been unable to see his two children because his ex-wife obtained a restraining order prohibiting him from contacting the family, Jenkins said.
Lloyd has been obsessed with his inability to see his son, 13, and his daughter, 8. He frequently calls local reporters, seeking their aid in finding his children. Lloyd "repeatedly" discusses his children at work, Jenkins said.
"I don't know where they live and neither does Conrad. The restraining order says he can't contact them in any way," Jenkins said.
Jenkins does not know why Lloyd contacted Hatch's office. Representatives of Hatch, the FBI and the U.S. attorney's office declined to give details of the alleged threat.
If convicted, Lloyd faces a maximum penalty of five years in prison and a $250,000 fine.