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Springfield Man Sentenced to 24 Months for Threatening to Blow Up Schools and Kill California District Attorney’s Office Employee

David William Platek, 43, was sentenced on August 27, 2026, in federal court for threatening interstate communication.

3 reports on this incident · first at Aug 27, 2026, 12:30 p.m. ET

By AI ReporterWritten Aug 27, 2026, 12:57 p.m. ET
Developing · checked 2h ago

This case is not concluded. The Justice Department announces the cases it brings and the ones it wins; it does not issue a release when a jury acquits or a judge dismisses. A charge reported here may since have been resolved in the defendant's favour without any further announcement.

We last searched for new coverage of this at Aug 27, 2026, 11:38 a.m. ET — checked 2h ago.

A Springfield, Mo., man was in federal court on August 27, 2026, for threatening to kill a prominent member of the California District Attorney’s office and bomb area schools. David William Platek, 43, was by U.S. District Judge Megan Blair Benton to two years in federal prison, followed by three years supervised release, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Western District of Missouri. Platek previously pleaded guilty to threatening interstate communication. In 2019, the San Luis Obispo (SLO) County, Calif. District Attorney’s Office charged Platek with identity theft; those charges were eventually dismissed. After the dismissal, Platek moved to Springfield, Mo., and blamed a member of the SLO District Attorney’s Office for his prosecution, his “self-exile” to Missouri, and his inability to find employment. Platek sent his friend, who was living in another state, in excess of 125 pages of text messages in which he threatened to blow up schools in SLO County and kill a prominent member of the SLO District Attorney’s Office. The case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Randall D. Eggert and investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation. It is part of Operation Take Back America, a nationwide initiative that marshals the full resources of the Department of Justice to repel the invasion of illegal immigration, achieve the total elimination of cartels and transnational organizations, and protect communities from violent crime.

Earlier reports

  1. Aug 27, 2026, 12:52 p.m. ET

    Springfield Man Sentenced to 24 Months for Threatening to Blow Up Schools and Kill California District Attorney’s Office Employee

    A Springfield, Mo., man was sentenced in federal court on Aug. 27, 2026, for threatening to kill a prominent member of the California District Attorney’s office and bomb area schools. David William Platek, 43, was sentenced by U.S. District Judge Megan Blair Benton to two years in federal prison, followed by three years supervised release, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Western District of Missouri.

    Platek previously pleaded guilty to threatening interstate communication. In 2019, the San Luis Obispo (SLO) County, Calif. District Attorney’s Office charged Platek with identity theft; those charges were eventually dismissed. After the dismissal, Platek moved to Springfield, Mo., and blamed a member of the SLO District Attorney’s Office for his prosecution, his “self-exile” to Missouri, and his inability to find employment.

    Platek sent his friend, who was living in another state, in excess of 125 pages of text messages in which he threatened to blow up schools in SLO County and to kill a prominent member of the SLO District Attorney’s Office. The case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Randall D. Eggert and investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation. It is part of Operation Take Back America, a nationwide initiative that marshals the full resources of the Department of Justice to repel the invasion of illegal immigration, achieve the total elimination of cartels and transnational criminal organizations, and protect communities from violent crime.

  2. Aug 27, 2026, 12:30 p.m. ETFirst report

    Springfield Man Sentenced to 24 Months for Threatening to Blow Up Schools and Kill California District Attorney’s Office Employee

    A Springfield, Mo., man was sentenced in federal court on Aug. 27, 2026, for threatening to kill a prominent member of the California District Attorney’s office and bomb area schools, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Western District of Missouri.

    David William Platek, 43, was sentenced by U.S. District Judge Megan Blair Benton to two years in federal prison, followed by three years of supervised release. Platek previously pleaded guilty to threatening interstate communication.

    According to court records, in 2019 the San Luis Obispo County, Calif. District Attorney’s Office charged Platek with identity theft; those charges were later dismissed. After the dismissal, Platek moved to Springfield, Mo., and blamed a member of the SLO District Attorney’s Office for his prosecution, his “self-exile” to Missouri, and his inability to find employment. Platek sent his friend, who was living in another state, more than 125 pages of text messages in which he threatened to blow up schools in SLO County and to kill a prominent member of the SLO District Attorney’s Office.

    The case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Randall D. Eggert and investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation. It is part of Operation Take Back America, a nationwide initiative that marshals the full resources of the Department of Justice to repel the invasion of illegal immigration, achieve the total elimination of cartels and transnational criminal organizations, and protect communities from violent crime.

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Revision history

  1. Version 127 Aug 2026, 16:52current

    First published.

  2. Version 127 Aug 2026, 16:30current

    First published.

  3. Version 127 Aug 2026, 16:57current

    First published.

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