Post Falls Man Arrested After Smashing KCSO Windows, Threatening Armed Attack

A Post Falls man livestreamed calls for armed assault on two local law enforcement agencies before following through on one part of his plan, baseball bat in hand, at the Kootenai County Sheriff's Office.

Ryan J. McClintock, 33, was arrested the evening of April 4 after smashing multiple windows at the KCSO building at 5500 N. Government Way in Coeur d'Alene. Before arriving there, he had posted a series of Facebook Live videos calling for "gangsters and people not afraid to die" to storm both the Coeur d'Alene Police Department and the Post Falls Police Department. In one video, McClintock said he was personally heading to the Coeur d'Alene department and warned any "good officers" to leave.

Tips about the videos reached CDAPD around 5:20 p.m., prompting both the Coeur d'Alene and Post Falls departments to go on immediate high alert. By 6:32 p.m., dispatchers were fielding reports of shattered windows at the Government Way building, triggering a multi-agency response that drew the Coeur d'Alene Police Department, KCSO, Post Falls Police, and Idaho State Police to the scene. Officers located McClintock walking south on Government Way, away from the building. He followed commands, got to the ground, and was taken into custody without incident.

McClintock was booked into the Kootenai County Jail on two felony charges: malicious injury to property and terroristic threats. On Monday, April 7, he appeared via video before First District Judge Debra Heise, who set bond at $200,000. Judge Heise did not minimize what the court had reviewed: "What he did was alarming, but what he said was very alarming."

According to court documents, McClintock's stated motivation involved claims that two local pastors were pedophiles and that Kootenai County Sheriff Bob Norris was personally shielding them from prosecution. Defense attorney James Siebe requested a mental health evaluation, which Judge Heise granted. Siebe told the court that McClintock's family had been raising concerns well before the Saturday evening incident. "In fact, I think the Post Falls police appeared at his house at least once and I know they took some firearms from the area," Siebe said. Members of the McClintock family were present in the courtroom during the hearing.

The threatening videos were deleted from Facebook shortly after being posted, but a local investigative journalist preserved and shared the footage. Coeur d'Alene Interim Police Chief David Hagar acknowledged that threats against the department are not rare, but credited community support with helping bring the situation to a safe conclusion.

The terrorism charge carries serious legal exposure. Under Idaho's Terrorist Control Act, a conviction can result in up to 10 years in state prison, a fine of up to $50,000, or both. Some observers have questioned whether the statute, which covers acts intended to intimidate civilians or compel government action through force, fits a case where the suspect's own family had already alerted police to his deteriorating mental state.

The allegations McClintock directed at Sheriff Norris land in already unsettled terrain. Norris, who has served as the 13th Kootenai County Sheriff since January 1, 2021, drew on a 30-year law enforcement career that included the Los Angeles Sheriff's Department before taking office. In 2024, Coeur d'Alene photographer Pennie Collinson sued Norris, alleging he falsely implied at a campaign event that she possessed child abuse material. Norris denied the allegation, calling it "100% false." The suit was later dismissed on procedural grounds, with Collinson's attorney indicating plans to refile.

McClintock remains held at the Kootenai County Jail on the $200,000 bond pending further proceedings, with a court-ordered mental health evaluation now underway.