A Mansfield man accused of making a series of telephone bomb threats to courthouses in Nebraska, Tennessee, Washington, Oregon and Mississippi beginning November throughout the month of December 2012 has been arrested.

Lonny L. Bristow was arrested Wednesday in the Mansfield area.
  

According to the Cleveland Division of the FBI, an initial investigation revealed prepaid calling cards were used to make bomb threat calls in Tennessee on Nov. 27, 2012, were purchased at a Walmart in Upper Sandusky.
The Cleveland FBI continued the investigation and discovered Bristow had purchased the calling card on Nov. 27 at the Wal-Mart Supercenter in Upper Sandusky.

Through an additional investigation, the FBI determined that Bristow had purchased several pre-paid calling cards and linked those cards to the false bomb threats placed to the courthouses in the five states.
 

"Lonny Bristow induced panic in hundreds of people across several states who were simply trying to do their work," Stephen D. Anthony, Agent in Charge of the Cleveland Division of the FBI said.

"The FBI will continue efforts to aggressively pursue charges against anyone, such as Mr. Bristow, who chooses to make reckless and malicious bomb threats," Anthony said.

"The FBI did a tremendous job in piecing this case together," Anthony said.

 Agents executed a search warrant on March 19 and seized computers, bank cards, digital storage devices, weapons, ammunition and other electronic equipment.
 

Bristow's initial court appearance was Thursday afternoon in federal court in Cleveland.