Federal authorities have arrested a 42-year-old Michigan man accused of making death threats against FBI Director Kash Patel.
Anthony Daniel Palazzolo of Chesterfield Township, Macomb County, was taken into custody by federal agents on October 30. The allegations are detailed in a criminal complaint that has since been unsealed.
According to court records, Palazzolo sent a disturbing Facebook message to an acquaintance earlier in October.
In the exchange, he allegedly claimed he had “put a hit out” on the person before directing his attention to Patel.
Palazzolo reportedly insulted the FBI director with explicit language and wrote that Patel was a “punk a**” who was also a “dead mf,” according to prosecutors.
During an October interview, Palazzolo acknowledged sending the messages and apologized. An FBI agent said he claimed to have had “no intent to harm anyone.”
However, other messages allegedly conveyed a more serious threat. In one exchange, Palazzolo said he would go to an FBI office and “use deadly force against every single one of you government officials.”
The alleged threats extended beyond those messages.
Federal authorities have arrested a 42-year-old Michigan man accused of making death threats against FBI Director Kash Patel and a personal acquaintance.
Anthony Daniel Palazzolo of Chesterfield Township, Macomb County, was arrested by federal agents on October 30 after allegations in a newly unsealed criminal complaint.
Earlier this year, federal agents arrested a Massachusetts man accused of sending threatening emails about Patel’s girlfriend.
Court filings also allege that Palazzolo sent a message targeting the Secret Service, the Supreme Court and a Texas court. In it, he explicitly threatened to sodomize a government official.
Palazzolo appeared in Detroit federal court on October 30 and was charged with transmitting threatening interstate communications, a felony punishable by up to five years in federal prison.
He remains in custody pending a detention hearing set for November 2.
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His attorney declined to comment.
The FBI said Palazzolo has a lengthy criminal history spanning Michigan, Texas and Florida.
His record includes a 2018 charge for falsely reporting a terrorist threat, along with a separate charge related to a fabricated bomb threat.
The case comes as federal authorities confront a troubling increase in criminal prosecutions involving violent threats against politicians and other public officials.
Research from the National Counterterrorism Innovation, Technology, and Education Center at the University of Nebraska Omaha and Chapman University indicates that more than 850 threat-related cases have been prosecuted nationwide since 2013.
The case comes amid a troubling rise in federal prosecutions involving violent threats against politicians and public officials.
That figure peaked last year with an all-time high of 133 cases, and federal authorities are currently on track to shatter that record this year.
The alarming incident is not the first time threats have hit close to home for the FBI Director.
Earlier this year, federal agents arrested a Massachusetts man after he allegedly sent threatening emails targeting Patel’s girlfriend.
26-year-old Alden Welch Ruml allegedly sent a violent email to Alex Wilkins, Patel’s girlfriend.
Court documents reveal he said he would be ‘happy’ when her face is ‘canoed by an assault rifle.’
Ruml was taken into custody and charged with making threats in interstate commerce.
The Daily Mail contacted the FBI for comment.