A Utah man was arrested and is now facing possible federal charges of terrorism after phoning in a bomb threat to a hospital where his wife was giving birth.
A grand jury handed down a federal indictment to 26-year-old Michael Sherman Morlang for allegedly calling Sevier Valley Medical Center in Richfield, Utah on September 17 and claiming he planted a bomb there.
Fox 13 in Salt Lake City reported that the hospital was evacuated and patients needing emergency services had to be diverted elsewhere during the threat. Additionally, the local bomb squad as well as the FBI and the Department of Homeland Security responded to the scene.
Hospital officials report that the phoned-in threat cost the hospital $100,000.
“Yeah it was huge, huge ordeal,” Richfield Police Detective Sergeant Trent Lloyd told the local Fox affiliate.
Police later reported that Morlang was upset that his wife was having a C-section delivery ahead of her due date, and his bomb threat was an attempt to put a halt to the procedure.
Hospital administrator Gary Beck told the media, “You think, ‘Really? You would call a bomb threat in just for that?’ That’s a pretty selfish situation.”
Morlang faces a maximum penalty of 10 years in prison and a fine of $250,000. He is being held on Idaho on unrelated charges.
Follow Warner Todd Huston on Twitter @warnerthuston or email the author at igcolonel@hotmail.com
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