In Dec. 2025, David Wiliam Plakat, a 41-year-old software engineer from Missouri, threatened to kill San Luis Obispo County Attorney Dan Dow and his Family. In addition, he planned to explode a bomb at Templeton High School.
According to court filings, Plaket told an acquaintance he would “rent a van and make bomb explosives and fertilizer.” Prosecutors say he was explicit about his goal: to kill Dow and then target the school where Dow’s children are enrolled.
(Cal Coast News)
Plakat’s actions were part of a revenge plot. He was charged with identity theft in SLO County in 2019, though the charges were later dismissed. Prosecutors accused him of impersonating local political activist Kevin P. Rice on Facebook. He faced two felony counts of identity theft and one misdemeanor charge of electronic impersonation.
He focused his rage on District Attorney Dan Dow because he was the investigator in his case. “Everything I’m told says killing kids is the most pain I can inflict, and I have a right to fight back against the people who did this to me. A primal right. SLO wanted to destroy my life. I will blow up one of their schools,” Placket said.
“On Jan. 1, I will shift all my focus to killing as many people as possible in my lifetime,” Placket texted. Federal agents arrested him on Jan. 2, 2025, in Missouri, after an acquaintance reported the threat. On Feb. 24, 2025, Plaket appeared in Court to face federal charges. Prosecutors argue that his threats targeted both a public official and a school community. The case remains under investigation, and additional hearings are expected in the coming weeks. He remains in federal custody without bail and, as of September 2025, will be heading to trial in Oct. 2025.
Federal said that he wanted to go to court to represent the unfairness that the system can cause. “I wouldn’t even kill myself, I’d wanted the trial,” Plaket texted, “I am the monster the prosecutor and the broken justice system made me. You let it all happen, you all paid the price. Bullets are cheap and children are plentiful.”
Dow did not comment in detail on the threats, but published a statement thanking investigators for ensuring his family’s safety. Law enforcement leaders emphasized that all threats involving public officials and schools are taken with the utmost seriousness. The reason for that is that the U.S has faced multiple tragic school shootings and acts of violence, which makes any threat, even if not carried out, extremely alarming.
Source: San Luis Obispo Tribune, Cal Coast News
