CHARGED: FBI arrest man in antisemitic plot to kill Michigan Attorney General

CHARGED: FBI arrest man in antisemitic plot to kill Michigan Attorney General

Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel (D-MI) announced on Thursday that she was a subject in a violent antisemitic plan to kill elected officials by Lenawee County resident, Jack Eugene Carpenter III.

“The FBI has confirmed I was a target of the heavily armed defendant in this matter,” Nessel wrote on Twitter.

Carpenter is charged with “transmitting an interstate threat,” after allegedly making multiple threats on social media while in another state.

“Heading back to Michigan now threatening to carry out the punishment of death on anyone who is Jewish in the Michigan government if they don’t leave or confess,” Carpenter tweeted on February 17th.

The self-proclaimed “King of Israel” also warned law enforcement officials he felt were interfering with his plan would be met with “deadly force.”

In an affidavit filed on February 18, FBI Special Agent Sean Nicol wrote that there was sufficient “probable cause” to believe Carpenter’s tweet was meant to “cause injury” and possibly death to his intended targets.

Carpenter used the internet to spread his brand of QAnon hate towards the Jewish community, in a series of posts and manifestos falsely accusing its members of some nefarious plot to take over the world through the COVID-19 vaccine.

“Any Jewish person holding a public office on my land after that time is subject to immediate punishment for their participation in an unlawful war of aggression using a biological weapon.

A former University of Michigan systems administrator, Carpenter took a deep dive down the rabbit hole of conspiracy theories before being let go in 2021 after 10 years.

Approximately 6,500 Jewish students are enrolled at the university.

Though the school hasn’t disclosed the reason behind Carpenter’s dismissal, an account linked to the Tipton resident accused the university of firing him for “refusing to take experimental medication,” the Jewish Telegraphic Agency wrote.

Fully radicalized, Carpenter, the owner of several registered and unregistered firearms,  allegedly targeted several University of Michigan staffers, was previously arrested for assault in December.

According to the suspect’s mother, in addition to three registered handguns, her son also owns a 12-gauge shotgun and military-style rifle, which lends credibility to and heightens the belief that Carpenter fully intended to turn his unhinged rants into a violent reality.

Michigan’s Democratic Governor Gretchen Whitmer, who was the subject of a violent kidnapping plot by the far-right militia group – the Wolverine Watchmen, was also named in Carpenter’s rants.

Currently held without bail in a Detroit jail, Carpenter is facing up to five years in prison.

This may put a damper on his plans to turn his home into an independent state called “New Israel.”

Antisemitism is on the rise, with increased reports of violence against members of the Jewish community.

Attorney General Nessel, who is a member of both the Jewish and LGBTQ+ communities, was thrust into the national spotlight during pandemic lockdowns and became a frequent target of the far right.

She recently won re-election against her Ultra MAGA opponent Matthew DePerno, despite his constant attacks and promises to “lock her up,” taking a cue from former President Donald Trump.

Nessel is also the first openly gay member to be elected in Michigan, CBS News wrote.

“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,” Nessel said.

Original reporting by Andrew Lapin at the Jewish Telegraphic Agency and Kerry Breen at CBS News. 

Follow Ty Ross on Twitter @cooltxchick

Ty Ross

News journalist for Washington Press and Occupy Democrats.