(CBS DETROIT) – Two Michigan men have been arrested for allegedly making election threats in two separate incidents, the U.S. Attorney’s Office said Tuesday.
According to federal criminal complaints, a 46-year-old man from Jackson allegedly sent two threatening emails to a political action committee (PAC) on October 2, while a 25-year-old man from Ann Arbor allegedly threatened to “shoot conservative people.” . Christians” if Trump wins the election a few days before Election Day.
The complaint shows that one of the Jackson man’s alleged emails said in part: “Every day your people contact me with a campaign ad and it calls me racist. You’re contacting me again, dammit [sic] I guarantee I can find all your damn organizers. I’m a member of that American patriot f*** three b****. And we will turn you inside out.”
Investigators interviewed the man at his home on October 30, where he reportedly admitted to sending the emails. According to the complaint, he claims he did not experience them as threatening. Investigators say he instead claimed he was the one being harassed by PAC.
The Jackson man is charged with making threatening interstate communications and faces up to five years in prison if convicted.
Authorities arrested the Ann Arbor man after the FBI National Threat Operations Center received an anonymous online threatening report on Nov. 2, according to the criminal complaint.
Investigation of the IP address revealed a telephone number linked to the man. He admitted ownership of the phone number associated with the online submission. Investigators also discovered that he was linked to a Reddit user account that targeted Trump on September 23.
The Ann Arbor man will appear in court on Tuesday.
