DETROIT – Two men were charged by Attorney General Dana Nessel’s office for threatening three high ranking Michigan public officials.
The threats were made before and after the November 2020 general election, Nessel’s office stated.
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Harrison resident Daniel Thompson, 62, is charged with three counts of malicious use of service provided by a telecommunications service provider, a six-month misdemeanor and/or a $1,000 fine.
Thompson allegedly left threatening messages for U.S. Sen. Debbie Stabenow on Jan. 5 from Livingston County and made vulgar and threatening remarks in a phone conversation with a member of U.S. Rep. Elissa Slotkin’s office on Jan. 19 from Clare County. A third charge alleges Thompson made another threatening call to Rep. Slotkin from Livingston County on April 30, 2020.
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The voicemail message for Stabenow left by Thompson, who identified himself as a Republican, contained vulgar language and threatened violence meant to intimidate the public officials. Thompson stated he was angry about the results of the November election, that he joined a Michigan militia and that there would be violence if the election results were not changed. In an email to Stabenow’s office, he reiterated the threatening remarks and used vulgar language.
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Thompson also spoke with a staff member from Congresswoman Slotkin’s office for more than an hour in which he claimed people will die and used violent references, while also noting events that took place at the Capitol building.
The charges against Thompson involving the incident with Stabenow and an April 2020 call to Slotkin were filed in Livingston County District Court. The charge involving the second call to Slotkin was filed in Clare County District Court.
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Clinton Stewart, 43, of Douglas, Georgia, is charged with one count of malicious use of service provided by a telecommunications service provider, a six-month misdemeanor and/or a $1,000 fine.
On Sept. 18 Stewart allegedly left a threatening voicemail message for Michigan Court of Claims Judge Cynthia Stephens in which he accused “activist judges” of making rulings that favored then president-elect Joe Biden to win the election through mail-in ballots.
The message was discovered by an employee of Judge Stephens’ office on Oct. 2, shortly after Stephens ruled in favor of plaintiffs in Michigan Alliance for Retired Americans v Secretary of State. In that ruling, which was ultimately overturned by the Michigan Court of Appeals, Stephens granted plaintiffs’ request for declaratory and injunctive relief with respect to the receipt deadline for absentee ballots and ballot-handing restrictions that limit who can lawfully possess another voter’s absentee ballot.
The charge against Stewart was filed in Wayne County’s 36th District Court in Detroit.
Slotkin released a statement on the charges Tuesday.
“I want to thank Michigan State Police, the FBI, Capitol Police, and Attorney General Nessel for their attention to this case and for their commitment to taking violent threats seriously. This is not the first time violent threats have been directed at me or members of my team. Upon receiving the call, our office immediately reported it to state and federal law enforcement. I want to make clear that law enforcement will be involved in each and every threat we receive,” the statement read in part.