CV NEWS FEED // On November 5, the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) arrested a 25-year-old man who has since been charged with allegedly sending a message threatening to attack conservative Christians with an AR-15 if Donald Trump is elected president.
Isaac Sissel, of Ann Arbor, Michigan, was charged in a federal criminal complaint with sending “a threatening communication,” according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Michigan.
On November 2, the FBI National Threat Operations Center in West Virginia received an anonymous online message that in part read, as the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Michigan reported:
“I shall carry out an attack against conservative christan, (sic) filth in the event trump wins the election. I have a stolen ar15 and a target I refuse to name so I can continue to get away with my plans. Without a specific victim or ability to find the place I hid the gun, there’s not a thing the FBI can do until I complete the attack.”
The U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Michigan did not publish the full message, which was quoted according to court documents.
According to the criminal complaint, which FBI Special Agent Brett Mason signed on November 2, the affidavit states that law enforcement searched Sissel’s motel room in Canton on November 4. Officials did not find weapons or ammunition in the room. The affidavit did not specify which state Canton was in, although the affidavit later stated that “Sissel said he would be staying in the Canton/Ann Arbor area this week.”
The affidavit also alleges: “Sissel also stated that former President Trump was a threat, a ‘piece of s—’ that should have been assassinated, and that everything would be better if Trump was dead.”
“Sissel said he wouldn’t kill Trump, but if he knew someone was going to assassinate Trump that it was his (Sissel’s) duty to not intervene,” the affidavit continues.
The affidavit also alleges that Sissel expressed hatred of conservative Christians.
“Sissel said that he hated conservative Christians who he enjoyed threatening,” the affidavit alleges. “Sissel believed progressive and politically left groups were not violent enough when pushing their political views and said that he believed that conservative and politically right groups were effectively using violence to advance their positions.”
According to the affidavit, Sissel also said he would often “harass clinic patients” at a rehab clinic in Ann Arbor. He also allegedly identified clinic goers as “Christians,” according to the affidavit.
“Sissel said that there was a particular person at the clinic that he hated, and that he was ‘committed to violence’ against this person because of their dispute,” the affidavit alleges.
The FBI Detroit Field Office is leading an investigation, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Michigan.
Officials also arrested Christopher Pierce, 46, of Jackson, Michigan, on November 5, who was later charged with one count of making a threatening interstate communication, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Michigan.
Pierce “allegedly sent two electronic communications,” via email, “containing threats to injure or kill individuals associated with” a political action committee (PAC) that was fundraising, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Michigan. CatholicVote was unable to confirm the political affiliation of the PAC at the time of publication.
“I guarantee I can find each and every one of your [expletive] organizees,” Pierce’s message allegedly read, according to the office. “And we will turn you [expletive] inside out. . . . Now you better stop or I promise you this is badly for all of you [expletive] and we won’tinvolve [sic] the law.”
Pierce allegedly stated in a second message, “You will shut down your entire organization or it will be shut down for you. 90% of the members of [named organization]… are trained killers. . . . It paints targets onyour [sic] backs and the backs of your families. Your call centers have been located. Don’t make these boys and girlsgo [sic] to work.”
The FBI is investigating this case.
