Bemidji Man Faces Charges Following Serious Threats Complaint

Ryan Thomas Newman, 43, of Bemidji, was charged with felony terroristic threats after a woman told police he threatened to beat and hit her at a shared Bemidji residence on March 7, with a video recording of the alleged threats submitted to investigators as evidence.

According to the criminal complaint filed in Ninth Judicial District Court, a woman identified by initials as J.H. told officers she feared Newman would act on his words. She also reported that Newman had grown increasingly angry toward her over time and described a separate incident roughly a year earlier in which he allegedly pushed her.

A second person, identified as D.N., provided police a video recording of a FaceTime Messenger call from that same day in which Newman allegedly made violent threats directed at J.H. and another woman. J.H. confirmed to investigators that she heard those statements on the recording and told officers a second time that she feared bodily harm.

When authorities contacted Newman at the residence, he acknowledged having a phone conversation that morning but said he did not remember making the statements. The complaint says he appeared upset during that contact. He was then arrested and transported to the Beltrami County Jail.

Newman faces one count of terroristic threats under Minnesota Statute 609.713, which characterizes the offense as reckless disregard of the risk of causing fear in another person. The charge carries a maximum penalty of five years in prison, a $10,000 fine, or both.

The complaint is entered in the Minnesota Judicial Branch court records under Beltrami County. No arraignment date or bond conditions have been publicly listed in connection with the case.