Michigan man arrested, detained for threatening Walker, Schiek

A man accused of making threats to an Oneida County judge and to a newspaper publisher has been arrested and jailed in Michigan, according to court records and the Oneida County Sheriff’s Office.

Both Oneida County judge Michael Schiek and Lakeland Times publisher Gregg Walker were the recipients of threatening messages, the sheriff’s department reported in an officer’s supplemental report by detective sergeant Gary Loduha on November 2.

As of December 5, Peter Gruich of Clinton Township, Michigan, was arrested and detained in Michigan on charges of threatening injury or harm via computer message, a misdemeanor, and of making a threat to a judge, a felony, state of Wisconsin court records show.

The incidents began on October 17, when Walker received a threatening email and reported it to the sheriff’s office. In his report, Loduha wrote that he obtained the email, which originated from a person identifying as Pete Smith; however, the email address was that of [email protected]. 

The email author sent the email to Walker at 6:17 in the morning, with the subject header reading: “You need to be silenced, a—-e.”

The content of the message read: “Hey punk, it would be a shame if your ‘newspaper’ burned down or if your local pigs stated [sic] getting killed, wouldn’t it? You and your police chief need a big lawsuit you f—-g punk. F—k you, Pete Gruich Nazi Killer.”

In an interview with officers, after searching his email accounts, Walker advised the officers that that was the only message he had ever received from that email address.

“Walker was asked if Walker had received similar emails in the past and stated Walker had received approximately 10 emails of a similar nature within the past week, but this email was more violent in nature, as it expressed, in Walker’s words, burning down Walker’s business as well as killing cops,” the report stated.

Walker also confirmed that he had not consented to receiving the email from the sender and he said the threats made him concerned for the newspaper staff and for how the email would impact Walker’s employees.

“Walker also stated the thought of someone carrying out a threat on Walker’s business was at the back of Walker’s mind, as one never knew if someone would carry out threats made, but the recent email did make Walker afraid for the safety and security of Walker’s self as well as Walker’s staff,” the supplemental report states.

Walker told police that certain security measures had been taken for everyone’s protection.

The origins of fascism

The officers also asked Walker if he had ever been called a Nazi or fascist before and Walker said he had been called a Nazi in the past, but it was in the form of a voicemail and Walker could not recall being called either a Nazi or a fascist directly. 

Walker was asked by Loduha if there had been any recent social media posts that made reference to Walker and/or Walker’s business being fascists, and Loduha said Walker replied that the only person who came to mind was “Bangstad,” who Loduha said was known to detectives to be fully identified as Kirk Cushing Bangstad.

“Walker went on to state that Bangstad was constantly making social media posts in regard to Walker, The Lakeland Times, the Oneida County Sheriff’s Office, and other local law enforcement agencies being fascists,” the report stated. “Walker further advised that Walker did not typically receive emails such as the aforementioned email unless Bangstad was making posts about Walker and/or The Lakeland Times.”

After the interview, Loduha reported that he drafted and obtained a search warrant for the email address of Peter Gruich, hoping to obtain additional identifying information. After obtaining the warrant, on October 18, at approximately 4:15 p.m., Loduha and detective sergeant Brian Barbour served Google Incorporated via the Google Incorporated Law Enforcement Portal with the search warrant for Gruich’s account records.

Loduha and Barbour also conducted a separate search for indentifying information.

“Throughout the search, other identifying things were noted to include a mobile telephone number of [redacted] that indicated the telephone number had a 66 percent probability of being associated with the above-mentioned individual, Gruich, and an email address of [redacted] that indicated a 79 percent probability of being associated with Gruich,” the report stated. “Other addresses of note in regard to Gruich that further assisted detectives in the investigation were identified as 3055 Brush Street, Madison Heights, Michigan 48071 and [redacted].”

More emails

Throughout the course of the investigation, Loduha wrote, additional emails began being circulated, with the next string of emails being received by Tracy Hartman of the Oneida County Clerk’s Office. That email was originally sent by the email address of [email protected] on Tuesday, October 22, at 3:56 a.m. to the clerk’s office, Loduha wrote, with the subject header reading: “I am thinking of financing a lawsuit against your Nazi judge and cops that need yo [sic] be killed.” 

The report quotes the message of the email: “Hey a—e, I like suing corrupt p—-y judges and cops that need to be killed. Does that bother you or those f——g a—-s that you work for? F—k you, Pete Gruich Nazi Killer.”

In his report, Loduha wrote that he found it interesting that, in the email sent to the county, the sender identified again as “Pete Gruich Nazi Killer,” just as in the email sent to Walker, leading Loduha to believe the email was sent by the same individual who had emailed Walker.

That person the sheriff’s office identified as Peter Thomas Gruich with a date of birth of September 14, 1954, the report states. Loduha conducted a criminal background check but no records were found.

What was also interesting to detectives was the discovery during their review of emails that the dates the emails were sent “appeared to be direct correlation to events taking place that involved Bangstad.”

For example, Walker received the October 17 email just two days after Bangstad was arrested for criminal defamation, the report observed, and on the same day of his arrest “Bangstad made a post via the Minocqua Brewing Company Facebook page regarding Bangstad’s arrest to include videos of the traffic stop and photographs of Bangstad in handcuffs.”

More posts were made the next day, on October 16.

“Additional posts were made by the Minocqua Brewing Company Facebook page regarding Bangstad’s arrest and how to support Bangstad,” the report stated.

The same correlation was made with the email sent to the Oneida County clerk’s office on October 22, the detective reported.

Specifically, on October 20, Loduha wrote, additional posts were made by the Minocqua Brewing Company Facebook page regarding Bangstad’s arrest and on October 21 Bangstad posted Bangstad’s initial appearance in reference to the defamation case.

Also on October 21, Loduha wrote, posts were made by the Minocqua Brewing Company Facebook page regarding the defamation case to include the image of Bangstad s arrest, as well as a reference to judge Michael Schiek, who is presiding over the criminal defamation case.

“Posts were made by the Minocqua Brewing Company Facebook page regarding the defamation case to include the image that Bangstad had been arrested in relation to as well as additional text around said image including view points on what Honorable Oneida County judge Michael Schiek should do,” the report stated. “One particular post of interest read, ‘I refuse to be silenced because of satire and I dare the judge to hold me in contempt for this post.’ The post then referenced Supreme Court Case Hustler vs Falwell as well as referenced how Bangstad was refusing to have a ‘backwoods judge’ silence Bangstad.”

Loduha said he concluded that the emails sent to Walker and the county were linked to Bangstad’s posts and arrest.

“After reviewing the timeline with regard to Bangstad’s Facebook posts, Bangstad’s recent arrest, the email sent to Walker, and the email sent to the Oneida County clerk of courts office, it was difficult not to make a connection between the listed events,” he wrote.

Shooting Republicans

On October 25, Loduha reported that he had obtained the requested information from Google Incorporated under his emergency disclosure request. Upon review of the information, detectives discovered additional email addresses, one of which was identified as ptg.alatevc.com. 

“In correlation with the aforementioned email address, it appeared the email address of [email protected] had sent photographs included in the search warrant return to ptg.alatevc.com,” Loduha wrote. “These photographs were related to various images included in the search warrant return, one of which was specifically noted as being titled img_1881.jpg. Another email address identified in the search warrant return was [redacted], which detectives found interesting, as the TLO return showed that email to be a possible email address for Peter Thomas Gruich, DOB 09/14/54.”

The search warrant return also turned up a mobile phone device that was associated with the email address for the email that went to Walker.

“The user account was listed as ‘Pete Smith,’ which detectives also found to be of interest, as the email sent to Walker identified the name of the sender to be ‘Pete Smith’ using email address [email protected],” the report stated. “The account had a creation date of September 23, 2024 and a noted recovery email of [redacted] was listed, which Loduha noted to be in direct correlation to the information obtained through the TLO search.”

The report observed that a recovery telephone number was identified as the same telephone number detectives considered as a possible mobile cellphone number for Peter T. Gruich during the TLO search. Detectives also traced the area code back to Macomb County, Michigan, where Gruich was reportedly residing.

Detectives also matched a business address to Gruich’s street address.

At that point, the report states, Loduha made contact with the Sterling Heights Police Department. That department informed Loduha that Gruich was no longer living in that jurisdiction and directed Loduha to an address in Clinton township. But the Sterling Heights police also divulged that Gruich had come up on their radar previously for making alleged violent threats.

“[I]t appeared Sterling Heights Police Department had been contacted by an outside agency (unknown agency) in 2012 with regard to threats that Gruich was making in correlation to the 2012 elections,” the report stated. “Loduha was advised that Gruich was reportedly making threats regarding shooting Republicans at polling stations during the 2012 elections; however, the outcome of that investigation was unknown.”

Loduha contacted the Clinton township and found that Gruich was still residing there, the detective wrote.

“Loduha contacted the Clinton Township Police Department who advised Loduha that their agency had various contacts with Gruich in 2018 as well as 2019, but Gruich was not listed as a suspect during those contacts,” the report states.

Interviewing the judge

Detectives also interviewed Schiek, given that the email was sent specifically in reference to Schiek having presided over Bangstad’s initial appearance on October 21. The email was sent the following day.

“While speaking with judge Schiek, Loduha spoke with judge Schiek about the email not directly identifying judge Schiek, but how the email did make reference to a ‘Nazi judge’ and ‘cops that needed to be killed,’” the report states. “It was also discussed that the contents of the email read ‘I like suing corrupt p—-y judges and cops that need to be killed’ and the end of the contents of the email had been signed ‘Pete Gruich Nazi Killer.’ With the aforementioned reference regarding judges and law enforcement personnel being Nazis and Gruich identifying Gruich’s self as a ‘Nazi killer,’ one could reasonably infer that Gruich was seeking to elicit violence and/or death against judges or law enforcement personnel.”

Schiek told Loduha he was able to see the correlation between Nazis, judges, law enforcement, and Gruich being a “Nazi killer.”

Finally, Loduha said detectives conducted a more thorough assessment of the emails obtained from Google and discovered that Gruich had apparently been sending emails of a similar nature to various organizations throughout the country to include other newspapers and government entities.

There, Loduha said they made a new discovery that he said showed a direct correlation between Bangstad and Gruich. Using the same email address as that used to send the October 17 email to Walker, the sender sent an email to Bangstad, reading:

“Kirk, having extensive experience with corrupt cops, I would suggest that you file a FEDERAL LAWSUIT against the newspaper publisher and its employees, the pig chief and his piglets and the prosecuting attorney and that sh——e that you reside in. Don’t delay, sue those f—g punks now, in federal court f—k the Nazis. Pete Gruich.”

That email to Bangstad was sent approximately one hour after the threatening email had been sent to Walker, Loduha wrote.

The bottom line was, Loduha wrote, using the search warrant information and other investigatory tools, detectives “believe Peter Thomas Gruich, DOB 09/14/54 residing within the state of Michigan to be the individual sending emails to not only Walker, but the Oneida County Clerk’s Office, which contained threats toward Walker and judge Schiek and elicited violence by making reference to burning down Walker’s newspaper business and insinuating that ‘local pigs’ (referring to law enforcement personnel) as well as judges should be killed.”

The references were made in the emails sent to Walker and the county clerk’s office, the report stated. 

“Gruich also identified Gruich’s self as a ‘Nazi killer’ and made reference to law enforcement personnel, judges, and other government entities being Nazis, insinuating that, because Gruich was a ‘Nazi killer,’ Gruich would kill the people that Gruich was identifying as Nazis,” the report stated.

Loduha said he was forwarding the report to the Oneida County district attorney’s office for review with regard to the charges and was requesting a felony warrant for Gruich’s arrest.

The criminal defamation charge against Bangstad includes two counts of criminal defamation in which Bangstad, the owner of Minocqua Brewing Company, published on Facebook a post that included false and manipulated images of Lakeland Times publisher Gregg Walker and Times general manager Heather Holmes in a pornographic rendering.

Bangstad also recently settled the largest defamation case in Wisconsin history by agreeing to a payout of more than half-million dollars in a case in which a jury of nine women and four men found that Bangstad had defamed Walker with express malice.

Richard Moore is the author of “Dark State” and may be reached at richardd3d.substack.com.