DETROIT — A man who threatened to kill Jewish Michigan public officials on Twitter was charged with a hate crime Thursday, a prosecutor said.
United States Attorney Don Ison said Jack Eugene Carpenter III, 41, of Tipton, Michigan, made threats against Jewish government officials in Michigan on social media platforms while he was in Texas last month.
“Hate and prejudice crimes poison our communities and make people fearful of who they are or what they believe,” Ison said. “We will not tolerate actions like this, and we will prosecute those involved to the fullest extent of the law.”
Carpenter’s post on February 17, read in part: “I am going back to Michigan, now threatening with the death penalty anyone who is Jewish in the Michigan government if they do not leave, or confess , ” Ison said in a news release.
Ison said Carpenter is being held in custody pending trial. He was arrested in Texas on February 21.
A telephone message seeking comment for Carpenter’s attorney, Jean-Pierre Nogues, was left Thursday evening.
Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel walks to his seat before the State of the State Address, Wednesday, Jan. 25, 2023, at the State Capitol in Lansing, Michigan. (AP Photo/Al Goldis)
Ison said Carpenter could face up to five years in prison if convicted.
Carpenter has filed a document in court challenging the federal government’s jurisdiction over him.
The FBI has not publicly identified the state officials Carpenter threatened, but Attorney General Dana Nessel said Carpenter wanted to kill him. She described him as a “mentally troubled man”.
A Michigan lawmaker who is Jewish has said that he and two other Jewish people were informed by the FBI about Carpenter’s arrest.
“You are getting constant threats. … It really doesn’t affect me as it should because I’ve been dealing with extremism and antisemitism since October, November,” Rep. said Samantha Stekloff, a Democrat from suburban Detroit.
They said the threats began last year after the artist, formerly known as Kanye West, made anti-Semitic comments in interviews and on social media. Ye has expressed some regret.
