Detroit man charged with making alleged death threats against Gov. Whitmer and AG Nessel

A 32-year-old Detroit man was arrested and charged for allegedly threatening to kill Gov. Gretchen Whitmer and Attorney General Dana Nessel.

Robert Sinclair Tesh was charged on April 22 with false report of threat of terrorism, a felony that carries up to 20 years in prison, the Wayne County Prosecutor’s Office announced Friday.

Prosecutors allege Tesh made a “credible threat to kill” Whitmer and Nessel on a social media messenger. It wasn’t immediately clear what prompted the threat.

“The alleged facts in this case lay out a very disturbing scenario,” Prosecutor Kym Worthy said in a statement Friday. “We understand that these times can be stressful and upsetting for many people. But we will not and cannot tolerate threats like these against any public official who are carrying out their duties as efficiently as they can. You can disagree with their positions or their methodology, but you absolutely cannot act as this defendant allegedly acted or you will be charged criminally.”

Tesh was released on bond on April 29 with a GPS tether. A probable cause hearing is set for June 3.

On Monday, Metro Times revealed numerous threats against Whitmer on private Facebook groups over her stay-at-home order to curb the spread of the coronavirus. The pages have since been taken down.

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