Michigan man charged with threatening to kill FBI Director Kash Patel and an associate

A Michigan man was arrested Oct. 30 and charged in federal court with threatening to kill FBI Director Kash Patel and an associate of his, according to reports based on the court complaint ¹². The man is Anthony Daniel Palazzolo, 42, of Chesterfield Township, in Macomb County ¹². He is accused of one count of interstate communications involving threats, a felony ².

The charge carries a maximum penalty of five years in federal prison ². A criminal complaint is a charging document. It is an accusation, and Palazzolo has not been convicted of anything.

What the complaint alleges

The complaint says that in early October, Palazzolo sent a Facebook message to an unidentified associate of Patel ². Local station WDIV reports the message was sent Oct. 8 ¹. The message allegedly said he had put a hit out on that person, and it also allegedly called Patel a dead mf too ¹².

The FBI says the posts came from a Facebook account belonging to Palazzolo ². Investigators questioned him in early October ².

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After that interview, prosecutors say, he kept harassing a Detroit FBI agent by phone ¹². He allegedly threatened to come to the FBI office ¹. One message allegedly said he would "use deadly force against every single one of you government officials" ².

Another message was allegedly also sent to the U.S. Supreme Court, the Secret Service and a federal court in Texas, and it allegedly threatened to sexually assault a government official ².

His side and the record

According to the complaint, as reported by The Detroit News, an FBI special agent wrote that Palazzolo admitted sending the threatening message and apologized. The agent wrote that Palazzolo said he had no intent to harm anyone ². That is the government's account of what he said, not a court finding.

His court-appointed lawyer, Todd Shanker, did not immediately respond to a request for comment ². The reports include no statement from Patel or his office ¹².

The FBI says Palazzolo has a lengthy record in Michigan, Texas and Florida ². That includes a 2018 charge for a false report of a terrorist threat and a charge for a false bomb threat ².

What happens next

Palazzolo made his first federal court appearance in Detroit on Oct. 30 and was temporarily detained ¹². He is due back in court Nov. 2 for a detention hearing ¹². A judge will decide then whether he stays in custody while the case goes forward.

Why it matters

The case comes three days before the Nov. 3 midterm election, a time when many Americans worry about threats against public officials. That matters because threats like these can scare off election workers, judges and candidates, whatever their party.

The Detroit News cited research from the University of Nebraska Omaha and Chapman University. It found more than 850 threat-related federal cases since 2013. A record 133 were filed last year, and this year is on pace to exceed that ². The reports we reviewed include no comment from any Democratic or Republican elected official on this case.

The Record

1. Jan 1, 2018The FBI says Palazzolo faced a 2018 charge of making a false report of a terrorist threat; the exact date is not given ².
2. Oct 8, 2026Palazzolo allegedly sent a Facebook message to an associate of Patel saying he had put a hit out ¹.
3. Oct 30, 2026Palazzolo was arrested, charged by federal complaint and temporarily detained after a Detroit court appearance ¹².
4. Nov 2, 2026A detention hearing is scheduled in federal court ¹².

Sources

1. WDIV ClickOnDetroit, “Macomb County man accused of threatening to kill FBI Director Kash Patel” (2026-10-31). clickondetroit.com/news/local/2026/10/31/macomb-county-man-a
2. The Detroit News via Yahoo News, “FBI Director Kash Patel target of Macomb man's threats, feds say” (2026-10-31). yahoo.com/news/us/articles/fbi-director-kash-patel-target-20

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