Jerome F. Gorgon, Jr., U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Michigan | Department of Justice
A man from Center Line, Michigan, has been sentenced to 10 months in prison for making threats against Michigan Governor Gretchen Whitmer and shareholders of DTE Energy Corporation. The sentencing was announced by United States Attorney Jerome F. Gorgon, Jr.
According to the U.S. Attorney’s Office, Steven Conway, age 40, called a DTE Energy call center in Milwaukee, Wisconsin in January 2025 and threatened to “hunt down” and “target for assassination” shareholders and members of the company. Days later, Conway posted online threats on a dating website indicating that Governor Whitmer was “marked for assassination.” Conway has a previous conviction for threatening to kill a judge and police officers in Macomb County.
U.S. District Court Judge Robert J. White handed down the sentence after Conway pleaded guilty to two counts of communicating threats in interstate commerce. In addition to the prison term, Conway will serve two years of supervised release.
“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,” said U.S. Attorney Gorgon.
Jennifer Runyan, Special Agent in Charge of the FBI Detroit Field Office, stated: “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. 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.”
The investigation was conducted by the FBI’s joint terrorism taskforce with help from Task Force Officers from the Macomb County Sheriff’s Office, West Bloomfield Police Department and Centerline Police Department. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Stephen Carr and Catherine Morris prosecuted the case.
