Federal prosecutors say Lo Saetern posted violent threats online before investigators found firearms, ammunition and materials associated with explosives at his home.
SACRAMENTO, CA — A Sacramento man has been indicted on federal charges after prosecutors said he posted threats on YouTube about building a bomb, killing children at a nearby church and carrying out other acts of violence.
Lo Saetern, 35, was charged with making interstate threats, making threats involving explosives and possessing ammunition as a prohibited person, the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of California announced Oct. 20. The indictment follows his arrest in September after Sacramento police investigated reports of online threats against a church. The charges are allegations, and Saetern is presumed innocent unless proven guilty.
According to federal court documents described by prosecutors, Saetern posted numerous threatening statements to YouTube between Sept. 15 and Sept. 21. Authorities allege the posts included statements about wanting to build a bomb and kill children at a nearby church. Prosecutors also said Saetern made statements about carrying out a mass shooting targeting Muslims and made violent threats against a neighbor’s daughter.
Sacramento police began investigating Sept. 21 after receiving information about online threats of violence. Officers worked with the department’s Criminal Intelligence Unit and Explosive Ordnance Detail and later served a search warrant at Saetern’s residence. Police said at the time that officers recovered multiple firearms, ammunition, electronic devices, written materials and materials that could be associated with making explosives. Saetern was arrested and also served with a gun violence restraining order.
Federal prosecutors later provided additional details about the search. They said investigators found ammunition along with bags of sulfur powder and charcoal powder. Authorities said those substances can be combined with potassium nitrate to produce black powder. Firearms and additional ammunition were also found elsewhere in the home, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office.
The federal case also refers to events from December 2019. Prosecutors said Saetern told several people at the time that he was driving around with a bomb and wanted to blow himself up. Authorities also allege that he said he had built a potassium nitrate bomb before dismantling it. Investigators later found sulfur, charcoal and potassium nitrate powders in his bedroom, along with several items bearing black powder residue, according to the government’s account.
Prosecutors said Saetern is prohibited from possessing firearms and ammunition under a lifetime firearm restriction issued in December 2019. The ammunition allegedly recovered during the latest search forms the basis of the federal prohibited-person possession charge. Authorities have not publicly identified the church in the Justice Department’s announcement.
The Council on American-Islamic Relations responded to the indictment Oct. 21, citing the alleged threats against Muslims as well as the threats involving children at a church. The civil rights organization welcomed the federal charges and said places of worship and community spaces should be protected from threats of mass violence.
The FBI conducted the federal investigation with assistance from the Sacramento Police Department. Assistant U.S. Attorney Elliot Wong is prosecuting the case. If convicted, Saetern faces maximum statutory penalties of five years in prison for interstate threats, 20 years for threats involving explosives and 15 years for possessing ammunition as a prohibited person. The charges also carry a possible maximum fine of $250,000. Any sentence would be determined by a federal judge after considering applicable law and sentencing guidelines.
The federal indictment represents the latest step in a case that began with the September investigation and arrest. Prosecutors have emphasized that an indictment is an accusation rather than proof of guilt, and the government must prove the charges beyond a reasonable doubt in court.
Author note: Last updated October 22, 2026.