Oahu Man Pleads Guilty to Threatening to Kill Governor of Michigan

HONOLULU - United States Attorney Ken Sorenson announced that Ronald Saville, 49, of Honolulu, pleaded guilty on August 18, 2026, to one count of sending interstate communications containing threats.

As admitted in the plea agreement, on May 9, 2026, Saville emailed the Michigan State Police identifying himself, referencing the state capitol building in Lansing, Michigan, and stating that he was "going to walk in with a gun at A.R. 15 and open fire and kill as many people as possible. I mean what I say I'm not a joke." A short while later, Saville sent a second email to Michigan Governor Gretchen Whitmer stating, "just to let you know on Tuesday second, Lancy, Michigan is never gonna be the same again going to walk into the state capital shoot it up and kill as many people as possible than that I'm coming for you[.]"

Saville called the FBI on May 12, 2026, and told an FBI agent that he wanted to kill Governor Whitmer because of her political affiliation, that he had been conducting online research to plan a trip to Michigan to carry out his threat, and that he still intended to carry out his threat. On May 26, investigators located Saville in Kailua, and Saville admitted to sending the emails, stating that he wanted to be taken seriously and be noticed. Saville added that he intended to scare and threaten Governor Whitmer.

Saville was previously convicted twice in federal court in the District of Hawaii and was sentenced in 2008 for making threats toward former United States President George W. Bush and in 2013 for making threats toward former United States District Judge Susan Oki Mollway.

Saville faces up to 5 years in prison and a fine of up to $250,000, plus a term of supervised release.

FBI investigated the case.

Special Assistant U.S. Attorney Heidi Turner is prosecuting the case.