CHICAGO (WLS) — A suburban resident was taken into custody by federal agents on Friday morning, accused of issuing violent threats aimed at Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officers and “prominent political figures,” according to court documents examined by the ABC7 I-Team.
Michael Stover, aged 33, appeared in shackles at a U.S. District Court hearing this afternoon, facing charges of a felony count for issuing a genuine threat towards immigration and public officials.
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Prosecutors detailed that it was just after 10 a.m. when a team of federal agents apprehended Stover in a Downers Grove apartment parking area. The FBI Chicago shared online photos showing agents from the Joint Terrorism Task Force involved in the arrest.
A criminal complaint, unveiled late Friday afternoon, accuses Stover of making numerous threatening posts on social media, including menaces directed at ICE agents earlier this year and threats targeting the U.S. President.
“The U.S. president just declared his intention to specifically build concentration camps for those opposing him,” Stover allegedly posted online in April. “The battle starts here and now against this aggressor, or we succumb to servitude. Trade in your posters and selfie sticks for weapons!”
Prosecutors also claim Stover shared an image in February showing “five bullets—each marked with the first names of five notable U.S. political figures, written with a marker on the bullets—set atop two hunting knives.”
Stover’s social media activity had been monitored by the FBI’s National Threat Operations Center for months, and the agency contacted the U.S. Secret Service to launch an investigation this past May.
On May 7, court records state Downers Grove police and the FBI “entered a Clear and Present Danger request for Stover with the Illinois State Police (ISP)” and the ISP revoked Stover’s Firearm Owner’s Identification (FOID) Card, a state card that allows a person to possess or acquire firearms.
The next day, federal prosecutors said Downers Grove police responded to a 911 domestic-disturbance call at Stover’s residence.
When they knocked on his door, investigators said Stover “opened the door for officers, immediately shut it, then opened the door again with his hands in the air and an empty holster, a pocketknife, and a full magazine on his hip.”
No charges were filed in relation to the domestic-disturbance call, but given Stover’s possession of multiple firearms and his FOID card revocation the day prior, he was placed under arrest.
According to prosecutors, Downers Grove police seized six handguns, five rifles, a shotgun, and ammunition, including the five rifle rounds with the first names of “well-known U.S. political figures.”
Stover was ultimately released after state prosecutors declined to charge him with unlawful firearm possession.
After he was released, Stover was interviewed by a Downers Grove Crisis Intervention Sergeant and the FBI, in which he “he expressed frustration about global affairs and the U.S. government.”
But prosecutors say the police encounter did not stop Stover from posting threats on social media.
He was active on his Blue Sky account, using exceedingly extreme language in his posts, court records show.
“ICE is a terrorist organization,” Stover allegedly wrote in a July 7 post cited in his criminal complaint. “Share this if you think we should shoot them down like dogs.”
At his first court appearance, Stover told the U.S. District Court Magistrate Judge David Weisman that he was employed and worked in “air conditioning.”
Stover has not entered a plea to the federal charge he faces.
Given the violent and serious nature to the post, federal prosecutors asked that Stover remain in federal custody until a future detention hearing is held.
That detention hearing is scheduled for Sept. 10.
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