March 11 (UPI) — A Michigan man accused of threatening Gov. Gretchen Whitmer and President Joe Biden has been charged for illegally owning several firearms, authorities say.
Randall Robert Berka II allegedly posted threats against government officials online under the handle “@killthefeds42” and under the YouTube channel “Elizabeth’s Husbando,” FBI officials said in an affidavit filed Friday in U.S. District Court in Bay City, Mich.
Authorities alleged Berka also made threatening comments about the LGBTQ+ community and dared law enforcement to take away his weapons while posting his home address online.
“Hey FBI! My name is Randall the 2nd and I live in Sebewaing Michigan and I am willing to kill these people,” he wrote, according to the affidavit.
Agents said the comments were brought to their attention by Google, which submitted an online tip to the FBI’s National Threat Operations Section.
Berka has a history of mental health issues and was committed in 2012, authorities said, prompting the state of Michigan to declare him legally incapacitated and prohibiting him from legally owning a firearm.
His mother Michelle told police she had purchased four firearms for her son over the course of the previous year despite fearing for her safety due to her son’s mental health issues, according to the FBI.
The agents alleged Berka’s mother told them she is afraid of her son, does not think his ongoing mental health treatments are working and that she believes “he should be arrested and put in prison.”
Berka was taken into custody and is expected to appear in court Wednesday.