Michigan Men Arrested, Charged After Violent Political Threats

Two men were arrested in Michigan on Election Day: one man was allegedly sending threatening communications and spoke of killing Donald Trump to authorities during an FBI interview, and the other man — who feds claim boasted of his extremist ties in his communications — for vowing to injure or kill members of an unnamed political action committee.
The FBI and Justice Department announced the arrests on Tuesday afternoon.
According to authorities, Michigan man Isaac Sissel, 25, was arrested and charged with sending threatening communications on Tuesday.
The FBI said in court records that the social media site Reddit had voluntarily reported disturbing messages from a user with the name “ShootUpTrumpRally,” who also went by similar monikers like “WillShootTrumpSoon” and “PlanningToShootTrump.”
Authorities said they were able to identify Sissel by tracking his IP address back to the University of Michigan. According to court records, the FBI National Threat Center in West Virginia received an anonymous threat on its website on Nov. 2.
The threat stated: “I shall carry out an attack against conservative christian [sic] filth in the event trump wins the election. I have stolen ar1 and a target I refuse to to name so I can continue to get away with my plans. Without a specific victim or ability to find the place I hid the gun, there’s not a thing the FBI can do until I complete the attack.”
The FBI said it responded to the message by asking about access to weapons.
“I already have that shit,” a reply read.
Authorities said they were able to track the message back to Sissel’s phone and then interviewed him at a Travelodge motel in Canton on Monday.
No firearms, ammunition or other similar equipment were found, but agents said that wasn’t surprising because Sissel had claimed that he “hid the gun.”
During the interview, Sissel allegedly remarked that Trump was a “threat” and a “piece of shit” and that he believed Trump should have been assassinated.
“Sissel said that he wouldn’t kill Trump, but if he knew someone was going to assassinate Trump that it was his (Sissel’s) duty not to intervene,” an FBI affidavit states.
Though authorities located Sissel in Ann Arbor, he allegedly told them that he had access to firearms while living in Washington state but not while in Michigan. The FBI said it does not appear that he has maintained a “consistent residence” and that Sissel had IDs from New York and Washington.
Sissel was in Michigan on the same day Trump had a rally in the state.
After his arrest on Tuesday morning, Sissel made his first appearance before a magistrate judge, and records show he is currently detained. His next court date will be Nov. 7 at 1 p.m.
Elsewhere in Michigan, authorities arrested and charged Jackson resident Christopher Pierce, 46.
An FBI affidavit reviewed by HuffPost Tuesday shows that Pierce is accused of sending two online messages on Oct. 2 threatening to injure or kill people associated with a political action committee. The PAC is not named in court records.
Prosecutors said that Pierce used a readily identifiable Gmail account to send messages to the PAC. In the field to enter his name on a message form sent to the PAC, Pierce allegedly wrote: “Your worst fucking nightmare.”
The message vowed to “find each and every one of your fucking organizees” [sic] and seemed to suggest that he may be a member — or at least sympathetic to — the far-right “Three Percenters” network.
“I’m a member of that American patriotfucking three bitch. And we will turn you motherfuckers inside out. I’ve already managed to locate one of your callcenters [sic]..You will shut this shit down or we will shut it down for you permanently,” the message continued.
It also called Vice President Kamala Harris “Kamala Harrisis,” a reference to the terrorist network Isis.
A separate electronic communication Pierce is accused of sending in October vowed that the “Americanpatriot three” were “trained killers” who were “trained by Uncle Sam” and that the PAC’s “call centers have been located.”
“Don’t make these boys and girlsgo [sic] to work,” Pierce allegedly wrote.
The FBI said it interviewed Pierce at his home in Jackson on Oct. 30, and he was “generally hostile” to agents as he spoke to them through his front screen door.
Agents said they read Pierce’s messages back to him, but he “stated he did not see the emails as threatening.”
Prosecutors noted in a criminal complaint that this isn’t the first time Pierce has been involved in allegedly making threats.
On June 29, 2022, the FBI alleges that Pierce used an Instagram account with the user name “pierce_overheard_door” to lash out at a witness who testified publicly before the now-defunct House select committee to investigate the Jan. 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol.
Court records do not name the witness, but the date of Pierce’s alleged post would suggest he was referring to witness Cassidy Hutchinson, a former assistant to Donald Trump’s onetime chief of staff, Mark Meadows.
Hutchsinon delivered explosive testimony to the Jan. 6 committee, including revelations that the former president knew that rioters were armed but believed they wouldn’t hurt him.
The June 29 message from Pierce cited by prosecutors declared that “what comes next” would “make January 6th look like a Sunday stroll through the park” and that Hutchinson was committing “career suicide.”
“Where exactly in the world does she think she’s gonna be able to hide from one of the worlds [sic] wealthiest men in his army? Because there’s not a politician in this country that would come within 100 miles of this bitch now! You can’t be trusted! And we all know what happens to snitches,” Pierce allegedly wrote.
FBI agents said they interviewed Pierce at his home in September 2022 about those messages. Agents claimed they also asked Pierce about a comment he made suggesting there would be “no 2024 election.” In response, Pierce allegedly told agents that he was trying to “emphasize an ongoing movement encouraging voters not to cast a vote at all.”
“He stated that the federal government was ‘fake’ and ‘illegitimate’ anyway, which, he opined, was why the FBI was at his door to intimidate him,” an FBI affidavit states.
During that same interview, the agents said they warned Pierce that making threats could lead to criminal federal charges. Pierce allegedly responded that soon “the country will descend into civil war.”
It is unclear if Pierce has retained an attorney. He was released on bond of $10,000 and appears in court next on Nov. 26.
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Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel told CNN Tuesday afternoon that the state has received threats that are “serious in nature” as polling is underway but that none were “deemed credible.”