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Two charged with threatening Michigan officials over 2020 election results

Both men were charged with malicious use of service provided by a telecommunications service provider and fined $1,000.
Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel speaks during a press conference on Feb. 21, 2019, in Lansing.
Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel speaks during a press conference on Feb. 21, 2019, in Lansing.Jake May / The Flint Journal via AP

Two men were charged with threatening Michigan public officials because they were angry with the November election results, the state's top prosecutor said.

Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel's office announced the arrests of Daniel Thompson, 62, and Clinton Stewart, 43, in a press release on Tuesday.

Thompson, who lives in Harrison, Michigan, allegedly left a Jan. 5 voicemail for Democratic U.S. Sen. Debbie Stabenow that contained vulgar language and threatened violence.

In the message, Thompson identified himself as a Republican and said he was angry about the 2020 election, the attorney general's office said. He also allegedly said that he had joined a state militia and added there would be violence if the election results were not changed.

The attorney general also accused Thompson of sending Stabenow an email reiterating the threatening remarks.

According to the office, Stabenow wasn't Thompson's only target. On Jan. 19, a day before the inauguration, he allegedly "made vulgar and threatening remarks in a phone conversation" with a member of U.S. Rep. Elissa Slotkin’s staff.

During the more than an hour call, he allegedly "claimed people will die and used violent references, while also noting events that took place at the Capitol building," the attorney general's office said in its release.

Last April, he also made a threatening call to Slotkin, also a Democrat.

Stewart, of Douglas, Georgia, allegedly left a threatening voicemail on Sept. 18 for Michigan Court of Claims Judge Cynthia Stephens in which he accused "activist judges" of making rulings that favored Biden to win the election through mail-in ballots.

“It is unacceptable and illegal to intimidate or threaten public officials,” Nessel said in a statement.

“To those who think they can do so by hiding behind a keyboard or phone, we will find you and we will prosecute you, to the fullest extent of the law. No elected official should have to choose between doing their job and staying safe.”

Thompson was charged with three counts of malicious use of service provided by a telecommunications service provider and Stewart was charged with one count of the same charge. Both men were also fined $1,000.

It's not clear if they have obtained attorneys and Thomspon could not immediately be reached at the phone number listed for him. Stewart declined to comment Wednesday.