HONOLULU, Hawaii (News 10) – A Honolulu man pleaded guilty this week to one count of sending interstate communications containing threats, including to Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer, U.S. Attorney Ken Sorenson announced.
Threats sent by email
According to officials, Ronald Saville, 49, emailed the Michigan State Police on May 9, 2026, identifying himself and referencing the state capitol building in Lansing, Michigan. In the email, he stated he was “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,” according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office.
A short time later, Saville sent a second email to Whitmer saying, “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[.].”
Call to FBI
Saville called the FBI on May 12, 2026, and told an agent that he wanted to kill Whitmer because of her political affiliation. He said he had been conducting online research to plan a trip to Michigan to carry out his threat and that he still intended to carry it out.
On May 26, investigators located Saville in Kailua. He admitted to sending the emails and said he wanted to be taken seriously and be noticed. Saville added that he intended to scare and threaten Whitmer.
Prior convictions
Saville was previously convicted twice in federal court in the District of Hawaii. He was sentenced in 2008 for making threats toward former President George W. Bush and in 2013 for making threats toward former U.S. District Judge Susan Oki Mollway…