A 48-year-old Hawaii resident with previous convictions for making threats against political figures is facing new charges for allegedly threatening violence against Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer and the Michigan State Capitol.
Ronald Saville, of Honolulu, contacted Michigan State Police via email on May 9, 2026, stating his intention to walk into the Michigan State Capitol building with an AR-15 rifle, “open fire and kill as many people as possible,” according to court records.
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The message continued: “I mean what I say I’m not a joke.”
Federal investigators say Saville identified himself in the message, and a short while later sent a second email to Whitmer stating: “Just to let you know on Tuesday second, [Lansing], 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.”
The Federal Bureau of Investigation also reports that Saville contacted the agency on May 12 to share with an FBI agent his intentions to kill Gov. Whitmer because of her political affiliation — adding that he conducted online research to plan a trip to Michigan in order to carry out his threat, the FBI reports.
Saville was located and arrested in Abilene, Texas on Monday, June 1 , and charged in U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Texas with sending interstate communications containing threats.
He will remain detained pending transportation to the District of Hawaii, where he has previously convicted twice for making similar threats. In 2006, Saville made threats toward former U.S. President George W. Bush, according to the FBI. He was convicted again in 2012 for making threats toward former U.S. District Judge Susan Oki Mollway.
He faces a maximum sentence of up to five years in prison per count and a fine of up to $250,000, plus a term of supervised release.