Curtis

ELKINS – A former City of Elkins employee is behind bars after he allegedly threatened the mayor and President Donald Trump, leading to city offices being locked down Wednesday, police said.

Christopher “Ben” Curtis, 44, has been charged with threats of terroristic acts. He is being held in the Potomac Highlands Regional Jail on a $100,000 cash bond.

According to the criminal complaint, filed by Deputy Connor D. Waldron of the Randolph County Sheriff’s Office, on Wednesday he responded to the Elkins Fire Department after a report of “threats.” Once on the scene, Waldron spoke with Elkins Mayor Jerry Marco, who said Curtis, a City Water Department employee, had recently been terminated.

Marco said that, upon being fired, Curtis “began making threats” against Marco and Trump.

The incident lead to all City of Elkins offices being locked down Wednesday, Sheriff Rob Elbon said in a press statement Thursday morning.

“The mayor and his staff deemed the defendant to be a credible threat to the City of Elkins employees,” Elbon said.

A warrant was then obtained for Curtis under the charge of “terroristic threats,” and an “emergency ping” was placed upon Curtis’s cell phone in an attempt to locate him, Elbon said.

About 7 p.m. Wednesday, Curtis was arrested “without further incident” in Grant County, after Deputy E. Nazelrodt of the Grant County Sherrif’s Office “came into contact” with him along County Rt. 42 in Grant County, Elbon said.

Witnesses interviewed by Waldron Wednesday said Curtis made multiple threats after being fired.

Wesley Lambert of the City Water Department stated that Curtis said, “I was put on this earth to help cleanse the earth from people like Donald Trump,” the criminal complaint states. Another witness said that Curtis grabbed a pipe wrench and “acted like he was splitting the president’s head open,” after having “directed his profanities and threats” toward Mayor Marco.

A third witnesses provided similar comments, saying Curtis said Marco was a “marked man.”