DETROIT, MICHIGAN — A Michigan man has been arrested and charged with threatening to kill FBI Director Kash Patel and another person associated with him, federal prosecutors announced Friday.
Anthony Daniel Palazzolo, 42, of Chesterfield Township, is accused of sending a Facebook message on Oct. 8 saying he had “put a hit out” on the unnamed associate and that Patel was also dead, according to a criminal complaint filed in federal court.
Prosecutors say the threats continued even after FBI agents interviewed Palazzolo. According to the complaint, he later contacted a Detroit FBI agent and threatened to come to the bureau’s office and use deadly force against FBI, Secret Service and other government officials.
Palazzolo is charged with interstate communications involving threats, a felony that carries a potential sentence of up to five years in prison. He appeared before a federal magistrate judge Friday and was temporarily detained pending a Nov. 2 detention hearing. He had not entered a plea as of Saturday.
The case comes amid heightened concerns about threats targeting public officials ahead of the Nov. 3 midterm elections. Federal authorities have also been investigating suspicious letters mailed to lawmakers and election offices around the country, some containing unidentified substances.
The Justice Department emphasized that the complaint contains allegations only and that prosecutors must prove the charge beyond a reasonable doubt.
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