by
AG Dana Nessel
A Michigan man was charged Wednesday with threatening on social media to kill Jewish officials in Michigan. Attorney General Dana Nessel says she was among the targets.
"The FBI has confirmed I was a target of the heavily armed defendant in this matter," Nessel tweeted Thursday morning. "It is my sincere hope that the federal authorities take this offense just as seriously as my Hate Crimes & Domestic Terrorism Unit takes plots to murder elected officials."
According to an FBI affidavit, Jack Eugene Carpenter III of Tipton, Mich., who was staying in Texas, used a Twitter handle "TemperedReason" to post on Feb. 17:
"I'm heading back to Michigan now threatening to carry out the punishment of death to anyone that is jewish in the Michigan govt if they don't leave, or confess, and now that kind of problem. Because I can Legally do that, right?"
He is charged with interstate threats. He appeared in court Wednesday. A detention hearing is set for Friday.
The affidavit goes on to say that Carpenter "had a valid but unserved Personal Protection Order against him" that was signed on Feb. 9. He was arrested by the MIchigan State Police for assault excluding sexual. He also had three registered handguns.
The FBI agent Sean Nicol writes that he spoke to a Michigan State trooper on Feb. 18, who said that he was investigatinig Carpenter for the theft of a Smith and Wesson handgun from a girlfriend. The trooper said he received a call that morning from Carpenter's mother saying her son was in Texas and she refused his request for money to make a return trip to Michigan.
Carpenter then became angry, and said he would sell some silver to get money so he could return to Michigan.
CNN reports:
“When the defendant was arrested, in his vehicle they found approximately a half dozen firearms and ammunition,” federal prosecutor Hank Moon said in court Wednesday. “One of the threats he made was to shoot somebody.”
