A Michigan man has been sentenced to nearly three years in federal prison for issuing multiple online death threats against LGBTQ+ individuals and his state Governor, Gretchen Whitmer.
Randall Robert Berka II, aged 31, received a 32-month federal prison sentence on Thursday. The investigation, which began in 2023, was linked to his YouTube account “@killthefeds420.” Through this platform, Berka posted numerous violent threats, including a call to “kill all federal agents on sight and hang Biden,” according to The Detroit News.
Among his posts, Berka made several disturbing comments targeting the LGBTQ+ community, stating he would “kill lgbt freaks and save America” and that “queers need to die.”
Governor Whitmer has faced various threats in the past, including an attempted kidnapping plot. Berka joined this trend, saying in one post that he was “more than willing tot [sic] kill whitmer,” adding, “I do live in Michigan. ill assault her ugly face with my bullets.”
FBI agents were able to track Berka’s YouTube account back to him, as he did little to conceal his identity. In one instance, he openly declared his name and hometown, writing:
“hey fbi! My name is randall the 2nd and I live in sebewaing Michigan and I am willing to kill these people, fuck it I don’t care, fuck the feds, fuck them. Im not mentally ill for needing to be violent towards these people, call the ccops [sic], fuck them. Ill shoot them too. I’ll kill anyone who tries to take my guns. ANYONE. I AM DONE. TRY TO CONFISCATE THEM FROM ME AND I WILL KILL.”
Berka, diagnosed with schizophrenia, had previously spent time in a mental health facility. The state had prohibited him from owning firearms, yet his mother, Michelle, was sentenced to probation in July after purchasing five guns for him under the guise that they were for her own use.
Governor Whitmer has previously addressed threats against her, including the 2020 kidnapping plot, in an interview with CNN’s Chris Wallace. She attributed the increase in right-wing violence to former President Donald Trump, stating, “The former president made me a target and threw a lot of gas on the fire, and it has continued to burn.”
While the threats have had a personal toll, Whitmer remains determined, saying, “It’s not going to scare me. It’s not going to change who I am … I’ve got a job to do, and I’m going to do it.”
