Michigan Man Charged With Threatening to Kill FBI Director Kash Patel, Prosecutors Say
A 42-year-old Michigan man was arrested Friday and charged with interstate communications involving threats after prosecutors said he sent messages threatening FBI Director Kash Patel and an associate, and later threatened federal officials in Detroit.
A Michigan man was arrested Friday and charged with making threats against FBI Director Kash Patel, federal prosecutors announced. Anthony Daniel Palazzolo, 42, of Chesterfield Township, is accused of writing Facebook messages threatening to kill Patel and an associate earlier in October, according to the office of U.S. Attorney Jerome F. Gorgon Jr. of the Eastern District of Michigan, CNN reported. Palazzolo is charged with interstate communications involving threats, court records show.
Prosecutors said Palazzolo messaged the unidentified associate on October 8, saying he had "put a hit on you" and that Patel was marked for death, CNN reported, citing the criminal complaint filed by an FBI special agent. Investigators traced him through his Facebook and TikTok accounts, and FBI agents interviewed him at his home on October 9, where the complaint said he wanted to discuss his belief that the government was violating his property rights.
The complaint alleged that Palazzolo continued afterward, sending a threatening email on October 12 and leaving voicemails on October 13 threatening to use deadly force against federal officials, CNN reported. Palazzolo appeared in federal court in Michigan on Friday, was ordered temporarily detained, and has a detention hearing set for Monday; he did not enter a plea. A criminal complaint is a charging document and is not evidence of guilt.
