Letter to Gov. Whitmer Threatens State Employees will Die Unless She Pays $2M
Michigan State Police are investigating a letter sent to Gov. Gretchen Whitmer threatening that state employees would be killed unless she paid over $2 million in Bitcoin by Jan 25.
WXYZ Detroit reports that the letter was sent from Indiana by mail to Michigan's Governor.
The extortion attempt occurred during the same time frame that rioters stormed the U.S. Capitol and a bomb threat was made to Michigan's State House in Lansing. It follows a plot to kidnap Gov. Whitmer that was thwarted in the fall.
A spokesperson for MSP tells WXYZ they ultimately deem the letter to not be a credible threat:
"The MSP takes very seriously any threats made against elected officials or others. Upon being notified of this letter by the Executive Office, we looked into it. Part of that review included consulting with the Michigan Intelligence Operations Center. Ultimately, it was determined not to be a credible threat."
Retired FBI Supervisory Special Agent Andy Bartnowak spoke with WXYZ, saying that he believes MSP are taking the threat seriously:
I think we can safely say that the State Police are aggressively pursuing this investigation. They’re gonna exhaust all investigative leads until they make a determination that either A, there's nothing else to pursue or B, they've identified an individual or group of individuals possibly.