That was a fugitive who crossed State lines.
This guy was holed up...in his house.
I think the real reason here was the mention of explosives, so they can bring up federal regulations about that.
But it’s really ludicrous overreaction to one guy bloviating. You can take anyone’s statements and escalate it into “a federal case” as the joke goes. And this was a joke.
“That was a fugitive who crossed State lines.”
No, it was not. He was convicted under state law (homicide), and was being transported to a state prison, probably in Joliet, and then he fled to Chicago. He never left the state of Illinois.
“But it’s really ludicrous overreaction to one guy bloviating.”
He wasn’t just “bloviating”. He made threats against police officers, and was posting their names, addresses, and patrol routines online, including for at least one undercover officer.