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Michigan man arrested for allegedly making threats against president, vice president

Posted at 7:54 AM, May 21, 2020
and last updated 2020-05-21 11:10:41-04

(WXYZ) — A Michigan man was arrested for allegedly making threats against President Donald Trump and Vice President Mike Pence.

According to a criminal complaint, Jeffrey David Cox, from Grand Blanc, allegedly sent 18 threatening emails to Navy’s Recruit Training Command in Great Lakes, Illinois.

Excerpts from some of the emails include:

“There is a bomb in the White House set to detonate Monday, May 18, 2020 at 12:00 PM. I either placed it near the main white house gates or in the White House itself. I plan to assassinate the President and the Vice President. Nobody can stop me.”

“I will steal an aircraft and crash it into the U.S. Naval Reservation in San Diego, California.”

One email outlined a plan to "place a bomb" in all Mott Community College campuses. MCC staff also received the same threatening email from the same address.

In 2017, MCC staff investigated threatening emails from the same email address.

A search warrant was executed at Cox's residence in Grand Blanc. According to records, his personal phone and laptop were seized. The threatening emails were reportedly found in the sent email folder on his personal mobile phone.

According to the criminal complaint, Cox allegedly admitted to using the email account and to sending the threatening emails. He said he sent the emails to help "calm himself down" and denied an intent to carry out the specific threats in the emails.