CARMEL, Ind — A Carmel man is accused of sending a threatening communication to an election worker in Michigan during the 2020 presidential election.
Andrew Nickels, 37, had his initial appearance in federal court in Detroit Aug. 11. Nickels is charged with making a threatening inter-state communication. If convicted, he faces a maximum of five years in prison.
According to court documents, Nickels called the clerk of a local municipality, and left a voicemail in which Nickels stated, in part:
“We’re watching your…mouth talk about how you think that there’s no irregularities…[Y]ou frauded out America of a real election…Guess what, you’re gonna pay for it, you will pay for it...[T]en million plus patriots will surround you when you least expect it, and your little infantile Deep State security agency has no time to protect you because they’ll be bought out and we’ll [expletive] kill you…[Y]ou will [expletive] pay for your [expletive] lying ass remarks…We will [expletive] take you out. [Expletive] your family, [expletive] your life, and you deserve a [expletive] throat to the knife…Watch your [expletive] back…watch your [expletive] back.”
The target of that call was Tina Barton, a Republican who is the elections clerk in the Detroit suburb of Rochester Hills.
She said she was relieved when charges were finally filed in her case — three years after she received a voicemail with an expletive-laced message threatening to kill her and accusing her of fraud in the 2020 election: “Guess what, you’re gonna pay for it. You will pay for it,” the caller said, according to court documents.
In the years since then, Barton said she feared for her own safety and that of her family.
“The political atmosphere is so charged on both sides right now that it’s tough to have any conversation around anything along those lines, including something that is an actual threat to someone’s life,” Barton said. “It becomes isolating.”
The call that led to the indictment was just one of many Barton received in the weeks after the 2020 presidential election, but the others were not considered “true threats” under the high bar set by federal law. Only an intent to cause immediate harm is considered a crime — something that’s meant to protect free speech but can be little comfort to those targeted for harassment.
A Justice Department Election Threats Task Force formed in June 2021 has reviewed more than 2,000 harassing or threatening communications to election workers. Federal prosecutors have filed federal criminal charges in more than a dozen of those cases.
To report suspected threats or violent acts, contact your local FBI office and request to speak with the Election Crimes Coordinator. Contact information for every FBI field office may be found here: www.fbi.gov/contact-us/field-offices/. You may also contact the FBI at 1-800-CALL-FBI (225-5324) or file an online complaint at www.tips.fbi.gov.