A Clarksville man accused of threatening to have Baxter County Sheriff John Montgomery, former sheriff Benny Magness and a district judge executed appeared during a session of Baxter County Circuit Court Thursday and entered a not guilty plea to the charges against him.
Forty-five-year-old Michael Curtis — who has proclaimed himself a king — appeared on a video hookup from the Baxter County jail.
As soon as Curtis sat down in front of the camera, he launched into a long, rambling, disconnected statement. Curtis claimed to be not only a king, but also an undercover U.S. Supreme Court Justice, an agent investigating the medical system in Arkansas, a stockbroker, a priest and an “illuminati” judge.
Curtis denied sending any threatening emails and called the charges against him “trumped up.” He said he had no computers or other electronic devices in his home.
When he first appeared in circuit court on Dec. 20th, Curtis said he did not need a lawyer because he was a “justice and peace officer.” During Thursday’s session he continued to represent himself.
According to the probable cause affidavit, Curtis began sending a flurry of allegedly threatening emails to the Baxter County Sheriff’s Office after he was served with temporary orders of protection obtained by his ex-wife, who lives in Baxter County, and an estranged daughter, who is in college in another part of the state.
Curtis was served with the temporary protective orders in Clarksville Oct. 24th, according to Sheriff Montgomery.
Following a hearing on Dec. 7th, the district court issued final orders of protection for both women effective through December 2023. Curtis did not attend the hearing.
During his most recent appearance, Curtis denied his wife had divorced him because “you cannot divorce a king.”
Most of Curtis’ communications were described as harassing in nature and incoherent in content. However, some of the messages did contain allegedly direct threats against the three officials in Baxter County.
In one message, Curtis said he was giving orders and directives to President Donald Trump to have the executions of the officials carried out.
An arrest warrant was obtained Dec. 11th based on the alleged threats and served on him by the Johnson County Sheriff’s Office. In serving the arrest warrant, the Johnson County Sheriff’s office apparently incurred Curtis’ wrath. He began threatening personnel in that office with execution — with the order again coming from President Trump.
He charged officials in Johnson County were in league with those in Baxter County in an attempt to murder “King Michael Thomas Curtis” and to abduct his “queen daughter.”
The affidavits completed by his ex-wife and daughter seeking orders of protection against Curtis contain a number of bizarre claims and statements made by Curtis to the two women. In her affidavit, Curtis’ ex-wife says he had been diagnosed as paranoid schizophrenic. She said she felt he was not taking his medications and was not in his right mind.
The daughter says in her affidavit she has been estranged from her father for several years. She said after starting college, she made an attempt to rebuild a relationship with her male parent, but his messages became more and more strange. She described them as “rambling in nature and focused on religion, the stock market and college scholarships.” The daughter says she blocked her father from communicating with her in late June last year.
Curtis is charged with two counts of terroristic threatening and threatening a judicial official or juror. All of the charges are felonies.
The United States Secret Service was provided information pertaining to the case and assisted with the investigation.
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