State Capitol Building of Michigan in Lansing
State Capitol Building of Michigan in LansingISTOCK

A Michigan man who threatened to kill the state’s Jewish attorney general and other Jewish officials has been indicted on a hate crime charge, the Associated Press reported.

Jack Carpenter III, 41, of Tipton, Michigan, was taken into custody by the FBI after tweeting on February 17, “Heading back to Michigan now threatening to carry out the punishment of death to anyone that is Jewish in the Michigan govt if they don’t leave, or confess.”

Carpenter made the alleged threats under the name "TemperedReason" on the platform. He was living in Texas at the time.

“Hate and bias-related crimes poison our communities and make people afraid simply because of who they are or what they believe,” U.S. Attorney Dawn Ison said. “We will not tolerate such actions, and we will prosecute those who engage in them to the fullest extent of the law.”

Ison added that the suspect is being held in prison until his trial. He faces a sentence of up to five years.

Carpenter is reportedly challenging the federal’s court jurisdiction over him.

The FBI hasn’t stated which officials he allegedly threatened but on March 2, Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel, who is Jewish, confirmed that she was one of the intended targets.

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

Jewish Rep. Samantha Steckloff (D-MI) told AP that she and two other Jewish lawmakers were told by the FBI that Carpenter had referred to them in his threats.

“You’re getting threats constantly,” Steckloff said. “It didn’t really affect me probably like it should because I’ve been dealing with extremism and antisemitism since October, November.”

That was when Kanye West began to spout antisemitic comments in interviews and social media, she added.

Carpenter was arrested after the Detroit FBI office received evidence about threats to murder Jewish state officials, including screenshots of a conversation linked to Carpenter’s Twitter account used to launch the investigation.

Michigan police were told by the suspect’s mother that he was planning to return from Texas to Michigan for a short stay. Shortly after, he 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."

According to the report, Carpenter’s mother told authorities her son had two hunting rifles, three handguns and a 12-gauge shotgun.

(Israel National News' North American desk is keeping you updated until the start of Shabbat in New York. The time posted automatically on all Israel National News articles, however, is Israeli time.)