A man living in a Pinellas County assisted living facility is accused of making threats that led to a shelter-in-place order at MacDill Air Force Base last week.
According to a federal complaint filed last Friday, Jonathan James Elder, 35, is charged with "making a threat by means of fire or an explosive."
The incident stems from Elder reading news articles about a suspicious package being found on March 16 outside the Visitor Control Center at the base. This led to nearby roads being closed, and the main entrance was shut down for about seven hours.
It was later discovered that the package contained "possible energetic materials." This is consistent with explosive devices like bombs.
But prior to that discovery, Elder allegedly called the base the morning of March 18 and was routed to the 6th Medical Group at MacDill AFB. That's when an employee answered.
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The call was not recorded, but the employee said they could hear static noise from the caller and said it was loud — like it was coming from inside a car.
"While on the phone, the caller stated, 'How did you like the surprise at the MacDill Visitor Center?," and then yelled, 'tick tick boom, it's gonna be between your eyes," the complaint recounts.
The employee reported the call — prompting the shelter-in-place order at the base.
Authorities tracked down the phone to Elder and his location at an unidentified assisted living facility in St. Petersburg.
Investigators then responded to the area and attempted to contact him. Elder initially shut his door, but officers persuaded him to come out. That's when he was taken into custody.
Elder admitted to calling the base, but claimed his statements were meaningless. He described it as "garbage."
According to the complaint, he also had no grievances toward MacDill AFB and denied ever making or researching weapons. He said that it is not something he would ever do. He also said he discontinued some of his medications due to adverse side effects.
According to the complaint, search history revealed Elder read news articles related to the suspicious package and searched for the base's phone number.
Elder was sent to a mental health provider since he met the criteria for the Baker Act. This allows for involuntary, emergency mental health examinations.
According to the complaint, he has an extensive history with the Baker Act, dating back to 2014. This pertained to threats to shoot others and build pipe bombs.
He also was identified as a person of concern during a threat assessment in 2025 and received a risk protection order, which recently expired. This temporarily prevents people who pose a danger to themselves and others from buying guns or ammunition.
Elder is not being accused of planting the explosives at the base. According to the Tampa Bay Times, the FBI is investigating another threat at MacDill that was sent in a video to a Times reporter.
