A Salem man used Twitter to threaten to kill employees and an executive of a California-based financial company as well as their families over nearly a year, according to court documents.
Christopher D. Michalski, 39, pleaded guilty Tuesday in Portland U.S. District Court to interstate communication of threats.
Michalski posted a series of tweets in 2021 and 2022, threatening to kill employees of Robinhood, its chief executive officer and their families. He attached photos of guns to several of the tweets, according to an affidavit from Peter Jackson, a special agent in the Salem office of the FBI.
He will be sentenced on May 15 and faces up to five years in federal prison, a $250,000 fine and three years of supervised release.
In 2019, Michalski was the authorized representative of Northwest Mycological, doing business at his home addresses, according to records of the state Corporation Division. Mycology is the study of fungi.
Jackson’s affidavit, dated April 25, 2022, describes how federal authorities traced the tweets to Michalski’s apartment in northeast Salem and determined the photos of guns were taken at a nearby shooting range.
An employee of Robinhood contacted the FBI on April 14, 2022, and reported a series of Twitter posts made by a Twitter account that were directed at the financial services company and included threats to injure and kill its employees, its CEO and his family.
Robinhood provides brokerage services including commission-free trading, investment and cryptocurrency.
The employee reported that the threats were in retribution for financial losses that the Twitter user claimed to have suffered.
“Robinhood was concerned about the continued and escalating nature of the violent threats that were directed at the company and its employees and the potential for a violent onsite altercation,” Jackson wrote in the affidavit.
The first threat identified in the affidavit came in May 2021, when Michalski posted a tweet that included a description, picture and map of Robinhood’s headquarters in Menlo Park California. He wrote, “I worry people will go there in person to politely air out their grievances.”
The ensuing tweets included:
February 2022: “Can’t enjoy the 10s of 1000s you stole from me if you’re all (expletive) dead.”
March 1, 2022: “Q: How many financial terrorists are going to have to die for me to get back the money you stole from me? A: All of them. All of them have to die.”
March 1, 2022: “1099 = the number of dead bodies I’m gonna leave in my wake if you don’t give me back the money you stole.”
March 2022: “Imagine having your whole family killed just bc you wanted to work for Robinhood.”
March 26, 2022: “The saddest part about your candlelight vigil? There won’t be any surviving friends and family to cancel last minute.”
The final tweet recounted in the affidavit came on April 14, 2022, the same day an employee contacted the FBI. Michalski linked to body camera video of a mass shooting in which employees at a San Jose rail yard were targeted, saying, “Police can’t save you.”
The FBI reviewed records that showed the account was created on March 26, 2021. An FBI agent asked Robinhood to check if one of their customers used the same IP address around that date, and the company identified Michalski as the only customer who matched.
Images and videos of guns on his Twitter included range line markings that said “Tritac.” An analyst at Robinhood found information on Tritac Shooting Range on Northeast Sunnyview Road in Salem.
Employees at the shooting range confirmed the images were taken there and that Michalski had used the range on dates around when the images were posted.
Agents observed Michalski close to his Salem apartment on two days in April 2022.
Michalski was charged April 25, 2022 in federal court with interstate communication of threats. FBI special agents and Salem Police Department officers arrested him nine days later, according to a statement from the U.S. Attorney’s Office District of Oregon.
A federal grand jury in Portland indicted Michalski on the charge on May 19, 2022.
Contact reporter Ardeshir Tabrizian: [email protected] or 503-929-3053.
SUBSCRIBE TO GET SALEM NEWS – We report on your community with care and depth, fairness and accuracy. Get local news that matters to you. Subscribe today to get our daily newsletters and more. Click I want to subscribe!
Ardeshir Tabrizian has covered criminal justice and housing for Salem Reporter since September 2021. As an Oregon native, his award-winning watchdog journalism has traversed the state. He has done reporting for The Oregonian, Eugene Weekly and Malheur Enterprise.
