Federal authorities have arrested a 42-year-old Michigan man accused of making death threats against FBI Director Kash Patel.
Anthony Daniel Palazzolo of Chesterfield Township in Macomb County was taken into custody by federal agents on October 30, according to allegations detailed in a newly unsealed criminal complaint.
Court records say Palazzolo sent a threatening Facebook message to an unnamed associate earlier in October.
In the exchange, he allegedly claimed to have “put a hit out” on the associate before directing his attention to the FBI director.
Palazzolo reportedly insulted Patel with explicit language and wrote that the FBI chief was “dead mf too,” according to the court filings.
During an October interview, Palazzolo acknowledged sending the messages and apologized, telling an FBI agent that he had “no intent to harm anyone.”
However, other messages allegedly presented a more threatening account. In one exchange, Palazzolo vowed to confront agents at their own workplace, saying he would go to the FBI office and “use deadly force against every single one of you government officials.”
The alleged threats continued beyond those messages.
Federal authorities arrested a 42-year-old Michigan man accused of threatening FBI Director Kash Patel and a personal associate
Anthony Daniel Palazzolo of Chesterfield Township in Macomb County was arrested by federal agents on October 30 after allegations in a newly unsealed criminal complaint
Earlier this year, federal agents arrested a Massachusetts man accused of sending threatening emails about Patel’s girlfriend
The complaint also alleges that Palazzolo sent another message to the Secret Service, the Supreme Court and a Texas court in which he explicitly threatened to sexually assault a government official.
Palazzolo appeared in federal court in Detroit on October 30, where he faced a felony charge of transmitting threatening communications across state lines. The offense carries a potential sentence of up to five years in federal prison.
He remains in custody while awaiting a detention hearing scheduled for November 2.
His attorney declined to comment.
The FBI said Palazzolo has a lengthy criminal history spanning Michigan, Texas and Florida.
His previous cases include a 2018 charge for falsely reporting a terrorist threat and a separate case involving an alleged fake bomb threat.
The case comes amid a troubling increase in federal prosecutions involving violent threats against politicians and other public officials.
Research from the National Counterterrorism Innovation, Technology, and Education Center at the University of Nebraska Omaha and Chapman University found that more than 850 threat-related cases have been prosecuted nationwide since 2013.
The case comes amid a troubling rise in federal prosecutions involving violent threats against politicians and public officials
The number reached a record 133 cases last year, and federal authorities are currently on pace to surpass that total this year.
The alleged threats against Patel are not the first to target someone close to the FBI director.
Earlier this year, federal agents arrested a Massachusetts man accused of sending threatening emails about Patel’s girlfriend.
Alden Welch Ruml, 26, allegedly sent a violent email to Alex Wilkins, Patel’s girlfriend.
According to court documents, Ruml wrote that he would be “happy” when her face was “canoed by an assault rifle.”
Ruml was arrested and charged with making threats in interstate commerce.
Our News Outlet contacted the FBI for comment.
