'Heavily Armed' Man Threatens To Kill MI Jewish Officials: Police

MICHIGAN — A Michigan man is facing charges after police said he threatened to kill Jewish officials in Michigan, including Attorney General Dana Nessel.

Jack Carpenter III, 41, a resident of Tipton, was charged with transmitting an interstate threat and is being held without bail in a federal court in Detroit, according to the Detroit News. He faces up to five years in prison.

Officials said Carpenter was living in Texas last month when he made the threats in a series of tweets indicating he was planning a trip back to Michigan to kill Jewish members of the Michigan government.

In a Feb. 17 social media post, officials said Carpenter tweeted that he was "heading back to Michigan now threatening to carry out the punishment of death to anyone that is Jewish in the Michigan government if they don’t leave, or confess."

The next morning, officials said Carpenter tweeted "I’ll be coming back to Michigan, still driving with expired plates. You may want to let everyone know, and Wayne County sheriff as well, any attempt to subdue me will be met with deadly force in self-defense."

Carpenter also tweeted references to a new country named "New Israel" that had been formed in Tipton, which is located in Lenawee County, officials said.

Carpenter owned three handguns, a 12 gauge shotgun and two hunting rifles, one of which is a military-style weapon, officials said.

"The FBI has confirmed I was a target of the heavily armed defendant in this matter," Nessel said. "It is my sincere hope that the federal authorities take this offense just as seriously as my Hate Crimes and Domestic Terrorism Unit takes plots to murder elected officials."

If you are a victim of a hate crime or have information about a hate crime you can contact the Michigan Department of Attorney General at 313-456-0180.