SEBEWAING (WWJ) -- Governor Gretchen Whitmer was once again the subject of death threats made online, along with President Biden, members of the LGBTQ community and federal officers.
On Friday, an unsealed affidavit outlined an FBI investigation into threats made over YouTube that led to the arrest of a mentally ill man from Michigan's Thumb region on potential weapons charges.
YouTube's parent company, Google, contacted the FBI after flagging a number of concerning comments from an account with the user name "Elizabeth’s Husbando."
The violent threats were made between Feb. 18 and Mar. 7 and were directed toward democrats, Gov. Whitmer, President Biden and the LGBTQ community. Later threats targeted law enforcement, specifically the FBI.
Fourteen comments were flagged, including the following:
-- “im going to kill these democrats biden deserves to die”
-- “im gonna kill lgbt freaks and same America”.
-- “you could be like me and get guns and threaten to kill politicians. Im more than willing tot kill whitmer and I do live in Michigan."
-- “I don’t work I refuse to i buy guns though and plot to kill people in dc openly f--- the feds ill shoot the fbi if they ever show up”.
-- “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.”
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On Mar. 7, detectives noted that the account had changed its display name to “kill all federal agents on sight and hang biden” and its handle to "@killthefeds420."
The account's contact and financial information were tied to one Michelle Berka and a residential address in Sebewaing, Michigan -- located in the Thumb region, about 25 miles west of Bad Axe.
Further investigation identified 30-year-old Randall Robert Berka II, who had been involuntarily committed for mental health treatment in 2012 and legally placed under the guardianship of his father in 2013. He lived with his parents, Randall Berka I and Michelle Berka, at the house in Sebewaing.
Having been declared legally incapacitated by the state, Berka was not allowed to have firearms or ammunition; however, records showed four guns registered to Berka's father at their home address.
The FBI interviewed Michelle Berka, who confirmed that her son had been institutionalized and medicated for mental health reasons, both voluntarily and involuntarily. She also told law enforcement that she had purchased four weapons for her Berka -- one handgun and three long guns. According to Michelle, Berka kept the firearms staged in his room, was in possession of ammunition and body armor and had gone out shooting before.
Michelle also confessed that she did not believe her son's mental health treatment was working and that she was scared of him and felt he should be in prison.
Based on the information gathered during their investigation, particularly Berka's illegal possession of firearms, the FBI was able to obtain an arrest warrant.
According to The Detroit News, Berka is currently in custody at the Bay County Jail. Court documents show a detention hearing scheduled for Wednesday, Mar. 15.
This is a developing case. WWJ Newsradio 950 will have the latest updates as more information becomes available. >> LISTEN LIVE!
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