Bay Area army vet charged for making threats to kill multiple military members at CA base

SAN FRANCISCO - Federal authorities in San Francisco filed charges against a Petaluma man Thursday over threats he allegedly made against multiple military personnel at a Southern California Army base.

Christian Ernest Beyer was charged with interstate threats after he allegedly posted videos on YouTube of himself threatening to kill certain military members at the Fort Irwin Army base in San Bernardino County. 

Beyer is a former soldier of the U.S. Army and was once stationed at Fort Irwin. He was court-martialed in 2021 over assault.

A YouTube video from Monday on an account with his own name contained threats to "kill specific military personnel at Fort Irwin."

"I had a great…life and I will…die for what I believe in. If you come to…get me and you have a …uniform on, you’re a[n]…enemy and I will not look at you as anything else. I will…fight you ‘til I take you down," Beyer allegedly said in one of the videos.

The 41-year-old was arrested at his father's Sonoma County home Wednesday, federal prosecutors said. The former soldier was denied bond in a San Francisco court Thursday.

He was arrested after an altercation he got into with "a group of elderly individuals" in Mendocino County after he allegedly brandished a knife at the group, entering his car and speeding it towards the group before he was eventually arrested after a manhunt.

Federal authorities said the FBI is also investigating the incident as part of its joint terrorism task force.