An Indiana person may spend more time in federal prison for threatening to kill the Rochester Hills, Michigan, secretary after the 2020 election, lawyers argued, saying he “terrorized” the election established amid an increase of threats aimed at officials.
U.S. District Judge Laurie Michelson is scheduled to sentence Andrew Nickels, 38, of Carmel, Indiana, on Tuesday. Federal lawyers in Detroit are requesting at least a two-year jail sentence and had hired Michigan Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson to explain the effects hazards have on poll workers.
Previous Rochester Hills Clerk Tina Barton threatened to kill her after she defended the integrity of the 2020 presidential election, in which Trump lost Michigan to Democratic candidate Joe Biden, and she is serving five months in prison after pleading guilty. Nickels admitted guilt on one count of interstate commerce transmitting challenges, which could have a maximal five-year jail sentence.
” … you frauded out America of a true election, where Donald Trump blew your … a— out of the waters”, Nickels said in one voice communication,  , according to prosecutors. ” Your little infantile Deep State security agency has no time to protect you because they’ll be bought out and we’ll f— — kill you,” the saying goes,” You’re gonna pay for it, you will pay for it. 10 million-plus patriots will surround you when you least expect it.”
After being threatened by Nickels, Barton and her household moved into their house where they were feared and put extra security measures in place. Nickels was charged with violating the original Rochester Hills assistant because of his “irreversible burden” on him.
He ordered her to take defensive measures to protect her. And, with his oppressive, intimidating, angry suicide risk, Nickels threatened the broader method of free and fair election administration in the State of Michigan”, lawyers Frances Carlson and Tanya Senanayake wrote in a sentencing document.
The prosecutors continued,” The victims— and all individuals who administer our elections — deserve to be able to perform their jobs without fear and intimidation, and to realize that those who choose to harm them will experience only punishment,” adding.
Nickels ‘ attorney, Steve Scharg, did not respond to a text seeking post. But after Nickels pleaded guilty in February, the plaintiff’s attorney said:” This case shows how emotional wellbeing affects so many people. I wish there were more options for treating those with mental health issues.
In Washington, D.C., the counterterrorism division of the U.S. Justice Department’s national security division asserts that Nickels qualifies for a violence improvement that may extend the case’s expert sentencing guidelines by one more year. According to the prosecution, the enhancement is appropriate because the threats were intended to “influinate or affect the conduct of the government through intimidation, coercion, or retaliate against government behavior.”
Since 2013, there have been more than quadruples in the number of FBI investigations into domestic terrorism. Researchers have reviewed , 501 cases , involving threats to public officials, according to National Counterterrorism Innovation, Technology, and Education Center researchers Pete Simi of Chapman University and Seamus Hughes of the University of Nebraska at Omaha.
According to Hughes, a senior faculty researcher, this year is on track to set a new record for the number of federal prosecutions involving threats to public officials.
What ‘ terrorism enhancement’ means
In the past, terrorism enhancements have been sparingly used, Hughes said, occasionally against terrorism suspects who have been detained on a charge not related to terrorism.
The Justice Department has used it to put their finger on the scale and claim that these kinds of crimes are particularly egregious in the hopes that it will deter others in the future, he said.
The inclusion of a D.C. national security prosecutor is evidence that the Justice Department is more actively involved in these kinds of cases, Hughes continued.
The threats were most frequently directed at elected officials, politicians, members of the criminal justice system, and the military.
After the election, Nickels left a voicemail for Barton in the Michigan case.
” We’re watching your … mouth talk about how you think that there’s no irregularities”, Nickels said in a voicemail message on Nov. 10, 2020, according to the indictment.
Barton previously stated on X that Nickels ‘ behavior “has permanently impacted me and my family’s lives.”
” I will never be able to turn the page and return to living in a sense of peace and security as I had before this incident,” wrote Republican Barton. Election officials should never be threatened, harassed, or intimidated for performing their duties in the service of the public, in my opinion.
In Michigan, the Nickels case was a recent instance of alleged antigovernment extremism against politicians in the wake of the 2020 election. In recent months and years, grand juries and federal prosecutors in Michigan have charged individuals for threatening to attack President Joe Biden and the governor. Gretchen Whitmer, other Democratic politicians, and law enforcement officers as well as members of the LGBTQ+ and Jewish communities.
Also, at least 28 people from Michigan — and more than 1, 300 nationwide — have been charged with crimes related to the U. S. Capitol insurrection on Jan. 6, 2021.
In her letter to the court, Benson referred to the former Rochester Hills clerk as” an American hero” in order to make sure the vote count was accurate and reflected the wishes of the city’s residents.
Just because clerks have been incredibly resilient to these attacks does not mean that we have reached a new normal, wrote Benson, a Democrat. These dangers “present a crisis for American democracy, as well as our most fundamental values,” and they actually pose a real threat to devote public servants. Threatening our election professionals requires swift and appropriate consequences.
Barton’s experience is not isolated.
According to a 2024 survey conducted by the nonprofit Brennan Center for Justice at New York University School of Law, almost 40 % of local election officials have been threatened, harassed, or abused in recent years.
The co-chairs of the National Council on Election Integrity and Carah Ong Whaley, the director of election protection at Issue One, a non-partisan nonprofit organization focused on campaign finance reform, wrote to the court in  to demand stringent legal proceedings and a “robust response to such threats.”
They wrote that” this case is a stark reminder of the severity and immediateness of the threats against those who uphold our electoral system.”
The day Nickels allegedly issued the threat, Nov. 10, 2020, was one week after the presidential election. A Washington Post article made reference to a video Barton had posted on Twitter at the time.
According to Ronna McDaniel, chairwoman of the Republican National Committee, 2, 000 Republican ballots in Rochester Hills were “given to Democrats… due to a clerical error,” Barton responded in the video.
According to the story, Barton responded by saying” that McDaniel was referring to an “island that was quickly fixed” and that her claim is” categorically false.”
In his voicemail, Nickels also said:” ( You ) will f— — pay for your f— — lying ass remarks. Watch your f— — back”.
From 2013 to March 2021, Barton oversaw elections in the Oakland County area. She later served as a senior adviser for the U.S. Election Assistance Commission and is currently employed by The Elections Group as a senior election expert.
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