A Michigan man faces domestic terrorism charges after his recent oral argument in an unrelated matter failed to impress the judges. Daniel Callahan, a 59-year-old from Fruitport, which I swear is not a Super Mario location, got fed up with government inaction and lodged an argument for expedited action based on a one-prong test of “not getting murdered.”
From the Michigan Advance:
On Feb. 15, while appearing before the Michigan Court of Appeals 3rd District Court in Grand Rapids, officials say Callahan expressed frustration with the government by asking on the record, “What is it going to take, somebody to get shot before the State acts on it?”
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Now you’re probably thinking that this is an ill-advised comment, but not necessarily a criminal one. A pro se litigant can’t be expected to understand all of the pomp and circumstance of a courtroom where we very rarely ask if somebody needs to get shot to advance a case. But if you thought that, you might be giving him too much credit.
Callahan then allegedly filed a pleading in the same case eight days later, stating that if the Court of Appeals and the Supreme Court did not act “lawfully,” and grant his requested relief, they and other entities would earn a “future Performance Award for MSU Stage Act 2, West Michigan 2023.”
MSU “Act 2” seems to be reference to recreating February’s Michigan State University mass shooting, a rhetorical choice that earned additional scrutiny from the Michigan AG’s office. Not that Callahan wasn’t also asking for that attention by name:
According to a press release from the AG’s office, Callahan expressed a grievance towards both the Department of Attorney General and Nessel specifically in subsequent pleadings, referencing the AG by name multiple times and calling for her to be removed from office and prosecuted.
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For the record, Callahan is currently out on $500K bail and a GPS tether, a point I raise only to remind people that when reformers talk about “ending cash bail,” they aren’t proposing putting dangerous criminals back on the street, they’re proposing that if a court is already going to put someone back on the street for a price, they might as well just attach the tether for free.
In any event, Callahan was arraigned on charges of false report or threat of terrorism and using a computer to commit a crime. So, it seems, he managed to get an answer to his own question. It did not, in fact, require anyone getting shot for the government to take action.
Muskegon Co. man charged after making gun threats against state officials during court proceedings [Michigan Advance]