Ronald Saville, 48, of Honolulu, was charged by criminal complaint on June 1 with sending interstate communications containing threats, according to a June 2 announcement from United States Attorney Ken Sorenson. Saville was arrested in Abilene, Texas on June 1 and had his initial appearance in the United States District Court for the Northern District of Texas that same day. He was ordered detained pending transportation to the District of Hawaii.
Court records indicate that on May 9, Saville emailed the Michigan State Police identifying himself and referencing the state capitol in Lansing. In his message he wrote, “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.” Shortly after, he sent another 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[.]”
On May 12, Saville called the FBI and told an agent that he wanted to kill Governor Whitmer because of her political affiliation. He also said he had been conducting online research to plan a trip to Michigan for this purpose and still intended to carry out his threat.
Saville has two prior federal convictions from the District of Hawaii: one in 2006 for making threats toward former President George W. Bush and another in 2012 toward former United States District Judge Susan Oki Mollway.
If convicted on these latest charges, Saville faces up to five years in prison per count along with a fine up to $250,000 plus supervised release. The criminal complaint’s charges are accusations; Saville is presumed innocent unless proven guilty beyond reasonable doubt. Any sentence would be imposed by a United States District Judge considering statutory sentencing factors and advisory guidelines.
The FBI is investigating this case while Special Assistant U.S. Attorney Heidi Turner is prosecuting it. The Justice Department serves as the principal federal agency for law enforcement with more than 115,000 employees operating across the United States and internationally; its mission includes upholding rule of law and safeguarding civil rights under Attorney General Merrick B. Garland’s leadership since March 2021, according to its official website.