Independence man gets probation for making threat, shutting down KC-area Ford plant
A judge granted probation for a man who pleaded guilty to making a terrorist threat that led to the 2023 shutdown of the Ford Assembly Plant in Kansas City’s Northland, according to court documents.
Prosecutors alleged he made the threat so his acquaintance could have the night off.
Clay County Judge Shane T. Alexander sentenced 21-year-old Zachariah A. Peterson of Independence to four years in prison after he pleaded guilty in late May to making the threat.
Alexander then suspended the execution of the sentence, placing Peterson on probation for five years instead. If Peterson violates his probation, the judge may revoke it and order him to serve the prison sentence.
Peterson was ordered to serve 75 days of shock incarceration, credited with time already served, according to court documents.
Alexander issued special terms and conditions of Peterson’s probation. These included participating in any substance abuse treatment directed by his probation officer; performing 200 hours of community service within two years; performing 40 hours of community service every week he is not employed full-time; and submitting to random urine or blood analysis tests for 60 days, with a minimum of two per week. After that period, any further testing would be directed by his probation officer.
In his plea, Peterson admitted to telling the plant that a person armed with firearms and explosives was inside the plant in Claycomo, according to court documents. His plea came just weeks before he was scheduled to stand trial.
As part of the plea agreement, prosecutors agreed to recommend the four-year prison sentence.
According to court documents, the Ford plant’s safety and risk management team received a call about 5:20 p.m. on July 18, 2023, from an unknown man claiming to be armed with an AK-47 rifle with three magazines, a handgun and one pound of C-4 explosives strapped to his chest. The caller claimed to be a disgruntled employee barricaded in a factory bathroom.
The threat forced Ford to shut down production at the assembly plant and associated buildings, including the paint and body shops, and evacuate about 2,200 employees for the night shift.
An estimated 100 state and federal law enforcement officers responded, and the search of the massive plant took around six hours.
By early the next morning, law enforcement officers had identified Peterson as a suspect, and members of the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Claycomo Police Department arrested him at his home in Independence.
