Portland Man Pleads Guilty to Threats, Firearm Possession, and Interstate Stalking

PORTLAND, ME—United States Attorney Thomas E. Delahanty, II announced that Michael R. Thomas, 52, of Portland, pleaded guilty today to threatening members of Congress, mailing threatening communications, interstate stalking, and possessing a firearm after being convicted of a felony.

According to court records, in 2010 and 2011, Thomas sent letters threatening to kill U.S. Senator Joseph Lieberman, U.S. Representative Steve King, and Maine Governor Paul LePage. From 2006 to 2011, Thomas sent a series of harassing and threatening letters to a victim in Massachusetts with the intent to cause substantial emotional distress. In March of 2011, agents executing a search warrant at Thomas’s residence in Portland found a .45 caliber pistol in his bedroom. Thomas was prohibited from possessing the firearm under federal law because of a prior felony stalking conviction in Massachusetts.

Thomas faces up to 10 years’ imprisonment each on the threats to Senator Lieberman and Representative King, the firearm possession charge, and the interstate stalking charge. He faces up to five years’ imprisonment on the threat to Governor LePage. He also faces a fine of up to $250,000 on each count. He will be sentenced after completion of a pre-sentence report by the United States Probation Office.

The investigation was conducted by the Federal Bureau of Investigation; the United States Postal Inspection Service; the U.S. Capitol Police; the Maine State Police; and the Danvers, Massachusetts Police Department.