Macomb County Man Sentenced to 10 Months for Threatening to Assassinate Michigan Governor and Shareholders of DTE Energy

DETROIT - A 40-year-old male from Center Line, Michigan, was sentenced to 10 months in prison for posting online threats to assassinate Michigan Governor Gretchen Whitmer and making calls threatening shareholders of the DTE Energy Corporation, United States Attorney Jerome F. Gorgon, Jr. announced today.

Gorgon was joined in the announcement by Jennifer Runyan, Special Agent in Charge of the FBI Detroit Field Office.

In January 2025, Steven Conway called a DTE Energy call center in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, and threatened to "hunt down" and "target for assassination" the shareholders and members of the energy company.

A few days later, Conway posted threats to kill Governor Whitmer on an online dating website, claiming the governor was on a list "marked for assassination." Conway has a prior conviction for threatening to kill a judge and police officers in Macomb County, Michigan.

U.S. District Court Judge Robert J. White imposed the sentence following Conway's guilty plea to two counts of communicating threats in interstate commerce and included a two-year term of supervised release for Conway.

"Threats of political violence and retribution are an attack on the rule of law. We will protect our public servants and the regular citizens who make our country free and prosperous," U.S. Attorney Gorgon said.

"Threats of violence of this nature, whether directed at a public officials, private citizens, or company shareholders, are serious crimes and will be treated as such," said Jennifer Runyan, Special Agent in Charge of the FBI Detroit Field Office. "The FBI will not tolerate any attempt to intimidate, endanger, or coerce individuals through online platforms. We will continue to aggressively investigate these offenses and work with the U.S. Attorney's Office to pursue those who make such threats, so they are held fully accountable under the law."

This case was investigated by the FBI's joint terrorism taskforce with the assistance of Task Force Officers from the Macomb County Sheriff's Office,West Bloomfield Police Department and the Centerline Police Department. The case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Stephen Carr and Catherine Morris.