Man Sentenced To Federal Prison Time After Threats To U.S. Immigration Officials: U.S. Attorney

CHICAGO, IL — A Park Forest man has been sentenced to a year in federal prison for threatening violence against federal immigration authorities, federal prosecutors said Tuesday.

On July 7, 2025, Michael Stover posted on the social media application Bluesky, "I 700% am past that playtime [expletive]. I mean kill the nazi rapist pigs to the absolute last one and kill their friends and families too. No mercy for Nazism in my [expletive] country. Hurt the people and get hunted like a rat until your last desperate minutes, which will be slow if I can help it."

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Stover admitted in a plea declaration that his post contained a threat to injure immigration authorities, and that he posted it knowing that it would be viewed as a threat to injure, according to the U.S. Attorney's Office Northern District of Illinois. Stover had previously made similar postings advocating violence against government officials, including postings in which he wore face paint and displayed a rifle.

A criminal complaint unsealed in September 2025 detailed that Stover was accused of having five rifles, six handguns, a shotgun and ammunition in his home at the time of the incident. Five of the bullets inside his home, authorities said, had ive of the bullets in Stover's home had the names of "five well-known U.S. political figures" written in marker on them. Stover was initially identified as a Downers Grove resident; the U.S. Attorney's Office said Tuesday he is of Park Forest.

READ MORE: Guns, Knives, Bullets With Names Of 'Political Figures' Seized From Downers Grove Man: Complaint

Stover, 34, pleaded guilty earlier this year to a federal charge of transmitting a threat in interstate commerce. On Sept. 9, U.S. District Judge Lindsay C. Jenkins sentenced Stover to a year in federal prison.

"Threats of violence cause real harm," Assistant U.S. Attorney Shawn McCarthy argued in the government's sentencing memorandum. "They instill fear, disrupt lives, and undermine society's sense of security."