Investigation into death threats against Gov. Whitmer leads to prison for Michigan man

DETROIT —A Thumb-area man accused of threatening to kill Gov. Gretchen Whitmer along with other Democratic politicians, law enforcement officers and members of the LGBTQ+ community was sentenced Thursday to almost three years in federal prison.

The 32-month sentence for Sebewaing resident Randall Berka, 31, is the latest for someone convicted of federal crimes amid an increase of violent antigovernment extremism in Michigan and beyond.

Prosecutors wanted him to spend up to 37 months in prison after an FBI investigation alleged he posted threatening comments on YouTube about the governor, who was the target of a 2020 kidnapping conspiracy that ended with nine people convicted of state or federal charges and five acquittals.

Prosecutors dropped two counts involving threats four months ago in exchange for Berka pleading guilty to illegally possessing a firearm. Berka is not allowed to possess firearms because he has a history of schizophrenia and bipolar disorder and had been committed to a mental institution.

His lawyer, Robert Dunn, requested probation, noting Berka had already spent 19 months in custody and was suffering from a significantly reduced mental capacity.

".... there is no evidence that the defendant took any steps to carry out any threats...," the lawyer wrote in a sentencing memorandum.

A criminal complaint portrayed Berka as a social media-savvy man whose mother bought him an arsenal of weapons even though he had been involuntarily committed for mental health treatment in 2012.

The investigation started last year after investigators learned about a series of posts on a YouTube account titled “kill all federal agents on sight and hang biden” since mid-February 2023. The account, which FBI investigators say was traced to Berka's home near Bay City, included threats to kill members of the LGBTQ+ community and Democrats, namely Whitmer.

"im more than willing to kill whitmer and I do live in Michigan," one threat read. "ill assault her ugly face with my bullets."

The threats were posted between Feb. 18, 2023, and mid-March 2023, according to the criminal case and included the following:

— “im going to kill these democrats biden deserves to die”

— “im gonna kill lgbt freaks and same America”

— "We have to kill the politicians theres nothing wrong with righteous violence and death."

— “democrats need to be shot and die”.

— “hey fbi! My name is randall the 2nd and I live in sebewaing Michigan and I am willing to kill these people, f--- it I don’t care, f--- the feds, f--- them. Im not mentally ill for needing to be violent towards these people, call the ccops, f--- them. Ill shoot them too. I’ll kill anyone who tries to take my guns. ANYONE. I AM DONE. TRY TO CONFISCATE THEM FROM ME AND I WILL KILL.”

The number of open FBI investigations into domestic terrorism has more than quadrupled since 2013. Researchers have reviewed 501 cases involving threats to public officials, according to National Counterterrorism Innovation, Technology, and Education Center researchers Pete Simi of Chapman University and Seamus Hughes of the University of Nebraska at Omaha.

Berka's mother, Michelle Berka, pleaded guilty to lying during the purchase of five firearms that she claimed were for herself. She was sentenced to probation in July.

In an interview last year on “Who's Talking to Chris Wallace?” on HBO Max, Whitmer talked about the impact threats have had on her life.

“I think about it everywhere I go, Chris, you know. The former president made me a target and threw a lot of gas on the fire, and it has continued to burn and I think about it everywhere I go,” Whitmer said.

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