Threat To Assassinate Whitmer Gets Macomb Co. Man 10 Months In Prison

(Source: MIRS.news, Published 02/13/2026) A Center Line man was sentenced on Friday to 10 months in federal prison for posting online threats to assassinate Gov. Gretchen Whitmer and making calls threatening DTE Energy shareholders.

Steven Conway, 40, who pleaded guilty to two counts of communicating threats in interstate commerce, also was ordered to spend two years on supervised release.

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

The government alleged that Conway called a DTE Energy call center in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, in January 2025 and threatened to “hunt down” and “target for assassination” the shareholders and members of the energy company.

A few days later, Conway posted on an online dating website a threat to kill Whitmer, 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.

Jennifer Runyan, special agent in charge of the FBI’s Detroit Field Office, said these types of threats – whether directed at public officials or private citizens – are serious crimes that will be treated as such.

“The FBI will not tolerate any attempt to intimidate, endanger, or coerce individuals through online platforms,” she said.

The case was investigated by the FBI’s Joint Terrorism Taskforce with assistance from the Macomb County Sheriff’s Office and the West Bloomfield and Centerline police departments.