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Explosives Found In Home Of UC Davis Graduate Arrested For Threatening State Senator

SANTA CLARA (CBS13) - A Santa Clara man is behind bars after allegedly threatening to assassinate Sen. Leland Yee (D-San Francisco).

According to the senator, he says the assassination attempt was going to happen either inside or outside the California State Capitol.

"He stated that he was a trained sniper, and his email detailed exactly how he was going to stalk and how he was going to carry out that particular threat," he said.

It's a chilling and detailed assassination threat against Yee, allegedly coming from UC Davis graduate Everett Basham.

"The threat was unlike any of the other ones I have received before," said Yee.

In that email, Basham also allegedly told the senator he could hit a target from two miles away with his rifle, and that he knew the senator's routine.

"He knew where my offices were, and he also knew where the state building was," said Yee.

Basham, apparently angry at Yee's push for tougher gun control, was arrested on Tuesday in Santa Clara County. After serving a search warrant on Basham's home, officers found weapons, and a large amount of explosive materials that had to be blown up by a bomb squad.

"It is a difficult situation to be in," said Yee said.

The bay area senator says he, along with his family and staff, remained on edge for the past four weeks while California Highway Patrol tracked Basham down.

On Thursday, CBS13 confirmed Basham graduated in 1990 from UC Davis with a degree in electrical engineering. However, long time professors we spoke to did not remember him.

Meanwhile, Yee says he is relieved no one was hurt; and he now can continue to work.

"I am not going to be deterred from addressing the issue of gun violence in this community, in this state," he said.

Yee says, at no time did he ask for additional security. His office says the San Francisco Police Department was also made aware of the threat while officers investigated.

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