Palazzolo Faces Felony Charge After Threats to FBI Director
A Chesterfield Township man was arrested for threatening to kill Kash Patel and an unnamed associate via social media messages.
By Maya Morris ·
Anthony Daniel Palazzolo, 42, was arrested in Michigan on Friday after federal prosecutors charged him with threatening to kill FBI Director Kash Patel and an associate. The Eastern District of Michigan announced the arrest based on messages sent in early October.
Palazzolo, a resident of Chesterfield Township, faces a charge of interstate communications involving threats. Court records indicate he used Facebook and TikTok to send the messages. His online handle is Baby Bird.
On October 8, Palazzolo sent a message to an unidentified associate of Patel. The text read, “i put a hit on you,” and stated that Patel is “a dead mf too.” Prosecutors included redacted screenshots of the correspondence in their filing.
FBI Special Agent Brian Koczenasz traced the social media accounts to a home about 30 miles north of Detroit. Agents interviewed Palazzolo at his residence on October 9. According to the complaint, he admitted to sending the messages and apologized. He told agents he had no intent to harm anyone and wanted to discuss his belief that the government was violating his property rights.
Palazzolo said he had contacted several federal agencies to complain about what he saw as insufficient responses to his concerns. Before agents left, a Task Force officer gave him a direct cellphone number and government email address.
On October 12, Palazzolo emailed that officer, the U.S. Supreme Court, the Secret Service, and a Texas district court. The complaint states he included threats of sexual violence in those emails. The following day, he called the officer and left two voicemails threatening to “use deadly force” on federal officials.
Magistrate Judge David R. Grand ordered temporary detention during a Friday court appearance. A detention hearing is scheduled for Monday. Palazzolo has not entered a plea. In March, Alden Welch Ruml of Massachusetts was charged with a similar felony after emailing threats to Patel’s fiancee, Alexis Wilkins. Ruml is set for a jury trial in February.
Source: CNN
