Federal prosecutors charged northern Michigan man, Russell Douglas Warren, 48, on Sunday with threatening President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris, alleging that he had also called for the killing of federal officers, and the execution of judges, and allegedly wrote that Washington, DC must be evacuated because “we’re gonna drop a (…) bomb on it.”
The charges against the Prudenville resident center on a series of threats and remarks posted last week on X, previously Twitter, about the killing of numerous public officials and attacking government facilities.
On Friday, the account posted an overt threat saying that Biden and Harris had been “condemned.” “Take Him to the Prison to await Execution,” it read. “He shall be hanged.”
The charges are the most recent to be brought across the US, following an increase in bomb threats against public officials. Warren is the 12th individual charged with federal offenses involving threats to a public figure just in the one month of this year, with 579 people having been accused since 2013.
Warren was ordered detained without bond until a detention hearing on Friday in federal court in Bay City, Michigan. He is charged with one count of threatening the president and successors to the presidency, a felony punishable by up to five years in federal prison.
The inquiry began on Saturday, after the US Secret Service and FBI learned about the X account and threats.
Agents examined the account, which had posted dozens of essentially identical threats against a range of targets, including Harris, all current and past judges and magistrates, and the FBI headquarters.
“FBI Headquarters shall be BOMBED,” one Friday post read. “All Employees of the FBI have been CONDEMNED. Shoot to kill.”
Investigators learned that cable TV company Charter Communications hosted the IP address which was used by Warren.
The suspect’s first name also matched a bizarre tweet posted on Thursday: “My name is Russ. After a stroke, I was admitted to a nursing facility. I was unable to make my own medical decisions and was compelled to get vaccinated several times. I recognize that I am dying. I know Donald Trump murdered me.”
According to the court document, Warren has a history of violent criminal activity. In 2022, he was found guilty of assault with a deadly weapon.