Blanding, Utah man accused of threatening to beat up informant in artifacts case

In yet another twist in the widening crackdown on illegal artifact trafficking, a 44-year-old Blanding man has been charged with threatening to beat up the undercover informant in the case with a baseball bat.

Charles Denton Armstrong, shackled and guided by U.S. marshals, appeared before a federal magistrate Monday on the felony retaliation charge.

Armstrong allegedly told a federal agent that he didn't want to kill the undercover operative, he just "wanted to hurt him real bad."