DETROIT — A federal grand jury has indicted an Upper Peninsula man accused of posting online threats to attack and kill people, U.S. Attorney Mark Totten announced Wednesday.
The indictment was filed 12 days after FBI agents arrested Seann Patrick Pietila, 19, of Pickford, and accused him of threatening a mass killing at an East Lansing synagogue on the fifth anniversary of an attack that killed 51 people in New Zealand.
Pietila is accused of making threats on Instagram and sending messages about neo-nazism, antisemitism and plans to mimic other mass shooters. The indictment includes two charges of transmitting threatening communications in interstate commerce — each a five-year felony — and one count of threatening to kill or injure by means of fire. That charge carries a maximum penalty of up to 10 years in prison.
