DETROIT — A Northern Michigan man with a history of threatening Democratic politicians pleaded guilty Monday to threatening to kill President Joe Biden by bombing the White House.
Timothy Heath Findlay, 49, of Prescott, a small village east of West Branch, is accused of leveling the threat April 28, the day Biden asked Congress for $33 billion to support Ukraine. At the time, Findlay was being held at the Arenac County Jail in an unrelated case when he mailed a letter threatening Biden, his wife, Gov. Gretchen Whitmer and others.
Findlay wrote that when he leaves custody, he and others "are going to bomb the White House and kill everyone with cyanide," according to his plea agreement. "Rape your wife(,) kidnap Governor Gretchen Whitmer(,) tie her up and leave her on Lake Michigan. Then kill everyone with cyanide."
The letter was filed amid a rise in political extremism nationwide and coincided with the criminal case against two men accused of plotting to kidnap Whitmer who were part of a broader group that discussed stranding her in Lake Michigan. Accused ringleaders Adam Fox and Barry Croft were sentenced to 16 years, and almost 20 years, respectively.
In Findlay's case, he put the letter in an envelope, addressed it to the White House and deposited it in a location where inmates are allowed to leave letters they want to mail through the U.S. Post Office.
He faces up to five years in federal prison when sentenced by U.S. District Judge Thomas Ludington, who was nominated to the bench by President George W. Bush.
Findlay was indicted in June, eight years after he was convicted of threatening to kill former President Barack Obama with a bomb.
In that case, Findlay was being held in the Ogemaw County Jail on an unrelated bomb threat in September 2013 when he wrote two notes found by jail staff, according to court records.
The first note contained a threat to kill a judge "and the president with a bomb." The second note read: "I want to bomb the White House."
Staff also found graffiti on the walls of his jail cell that read: "F---' kill the president bitches" and "Kill Obama."
Findlay told a U.S. Secret Service agent "that if he were drunk, he would definitely try and kill the president," according to a transcript of his plea hearing. "Defendant admitted he wanted to kill Barack Obama. Further, defendant stated that once he got out of prison, he would get a rifle, borrow a car, drive to Washington, D.C., and kill the president."
Findlay was sentenced to 15 months in federal prison. Ludington recommended Findlay serve the sentence at a prison with a comprehensive drug treatment program.
After being freed, Findlay ran into trouble for violating conditions of his supervised release and was sent back to prison for four months. He was freed in May 2019.
Findlay talked about the Obama threat matter-of-factly while pleading guilty in 2014.
"I'm guilty because I'm the one who wrote it on — on the walls and said that I was going to kill the President, so, yeah, I am guilty of this," Findlay told the judge.
