DETROIT — FBI agents have uncovered new threats to kill Gov. Gretchen Whitmer, along with other Democratic politicians, law enforcement officers and those in the LGBTQ+ community, according to a criminal case unsealed Friday that marks the latest crackdown on violent antigovernment extremism in Michigan.
The allegations emerged in a case against Sebewaing resident Randall Robert Berka II that was unsealed in federal court one day after a grand jury indicted an Adrian-area man accused of posting threats on Twitter to kill Jewish politicians, including Attorney General Dana Nessel. The case was filed almost 2 1/2 years after FBI agents thwarted a plot to kidnap Whitmer that involved extremists hoping to spark a second Civil War.
Gov. Gretchen Whitmer is the target of death threats in a new federal criminal case.
The criminal complaint against Berka portrays him as a social media-savvy man whose mother bought him an arsenal of weapons even though he had been involuntarily committed for mental health treatment in 2012.
Investigators uncovered a series of posts on a YouTube account titled “kill all federal agents on sight and hang biden” since mid-February. The account, which FBI investigators say has been traced to Berka's home near Bay City, included threats to kill members of the LGBTQ+ community and Democrats, namely Whitmer.
“Ill (sic) assault her ugly face with my bullets,” one error-filled post reads. "Im more than willing tot (sic) kill whitmer and I do live in Michigan.
A Whitmer spokesman declined to comment Friday on the new alleged threats to the governor.
The criminal case was unsealed amid an increase in domestic violent extremism. An FBI strategic intelligence assessment in October revealed that domestic terrorism investigations had nearly doubled from the prior year, from 1,400 to approximately 2,700.
When the kidnap plot was revealed in October 2020, then-Democratic presidential candidate Joe Biden and Whitmer placed some blame for the plot on President Donald Trump, who they both said didn't do enough to condemn white supremacists.
Whitmer continued that politicians who meet with fringe groups or "stoke and contribute to hate speech" are complicit with those groups.
The governor also warned those who threatened violence that "we will find you, we will hold you accountable and we will bring you to justice.”
"We’re Michiganders," Whitmer said. "We have grit, we have heart and we are tough as hell.”
Berka, 30, has been arrested and is being held at the Bay County Jail after being charged with being a prohibited person in possession of a firearm. He is not supposed to have access to firearms due to a history of mental health issues and daily use of marijuana, according to the criminal complaint.
He was ordered to be held temporarily without bond Friday on a charge punishable by up to 15 years in federal prison and has a detention hearing set for Wednesday in federal court. His lawyer, Bryan Sherer, did not respond immediately to a request Friday for comment.
The investigation started Tuesday with after Google officials submitted a tip to the FBI that a YouTube account was posting death threats. Investigators analyzed subscriber data to trace the account to Berka’s mother and the family home on Rose Island Road in Sebewaing, 29 miles northeast of Bay City, according to the criminal complaint.
The threats were posted between Feb. 18 and Tuesday, according to the criminal case and included the following:
— “im going to kill these democrats biden deserves to die”
— “im gonna kill lgbt freaks and same America”
— "We have to kill the politicians theres nothing wrong with righteous violence and death."
— “democrats need to be shot and die”.
— “hey fbi! My name is randall the 2nd and I live in sebewaing Michigan and I am willing to kill these people, f--- it I don’t care, f--- the feds, f--- them. Im not mentally ill for needing to be violent towards these people, call the ccops, f--- them. Ill shoot them too. I’ll kill anyone who tries to take my guns. ANYONE. I AM DONE. TRY TO CONFISCATE THEM FROM ME AND I WILL KILL.”
"We will take immediate action when we learn of individuals illegally possessing firearms and threatening to harm or kill others," Detroit U.S. Attorney Dawn Ison said in a Friday statement. "I applaud Google’s vigilance in thismatter, and we hope members of the community will, likewise, pay attention and report such conduct to law enforcement."
The YouTube account had six subscribers early Friday and featured several playthrough videos of the role-playing game "Elden Ring."
The YouTube account listed in the criminal case has a description page that references violence, weapons and drugs.
Investigators searched a database and discovered Berka lived at the home in Sebewaing, conducted a check of criminal records and learned he had been involuntarily committed for mental health treatment in 2012, according to the court filing.
“The state of Michigan determined Berka to be legally incapacitated and appointed Randall Robert Berka Sr. as Berka’s legal guardian in 2013,” an FBI special agent wrote in the court filing. “As such, Berka is prohibited from possessing firearms or ammunition.”
Investigators interviewed his mother, Michelle Berka, on Thursday. She said her son has been treated and medicated several times since being involuntarily committed and uses marijuana daily.
“Within approximately the last year, Michelle purchased four firearms for Berka (three long guns and one handgun),” the FBI agent wrote. “Berka keeps his firearms…in his room at the residence. Berka has ammunition for his firearms and has gone to shoot them; he also possesses body armor.
“Michelle is scared of Berka, does not think the mental health treatment is working, and believes Berka should be arrested and put in prison,” the FBI agent added.
His mother twice hung up Friday on a reporter seeking comment.
“I don’t want to say anything,” she said.
In a new interview Friday on “Who's Talking to Chris Wallace?” on HBO Max, Whitmer talked about the impact threats have had on her life.
“I think about it everywhere I go, Chris, you know. The former president made me a target and threw a lot of gas on the fire, and it has continued to burn and I think about it everywhere I go,” Whitmer said. The interview is scheduled to air Sunday night on CNN.
There have been other cases involving threats targeting public officials in Michigan in recent months.
Last month, a Northern Michigan man with a history of threatening Democratic politicians pleaded guilty to threatening to kill Biden by bombing the White House.
Timothy Heath Findlay, 49, of Prescott, a small village east of West Branch, is accused of leveling the threat April 28, the day Biden asked Congress for $33 billion to support Ukraine. At the time, Findlay was being held at the Arenac County Jail in an unrelated case when he mailed a letter threatening Biden, his wife, Whitmer and others.
And in December 2020, federal prosecutors filed charges against a New Hampshire woman accused of texting threats to Monica Palmer, the then chairwoman of the Wayne County Board of Canvassers, following the presidential election and sending photos of a bloody mutilated female body.
Katelyn Jones, a former Olivet resident who lives in Epping, was charged with threatening violence through interstate commerce following an FBI investigation that probed lingering fallout from Trump's defeat and baseless allegations about voting irregularities. Jones pleaded guilty earlier this month and faces up to 10 years in federal prison.
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