No charges filed against historian for remarks directed at Trump

WARREN — A local historian and retired Macomb Community College professor will not be charged for comments he recently made about shooting President Donald Trump.

Warren Police Lt. John Gajewski said the investigation into comments Wesley Arnold, 83, made at the Feb. 24 Warren City Council meeting has been closed. A police report was filed, and the matter was investigated, but Arnold will not face criminal charges.

“The Macomb County Prosecutor’s Office denied charges in this matter citing a lack of evidence at this time,” Gajewski said. “The case was presented to the U.S. Attorney’s Office, which also denied charges. From our end at the Warren Police Department, it is a closed case. I do not know the status at the federal level in this incident.”

During the investigation, Gajewski confirmed two firearms were seized from Arnold’s home. He would not reveal the types of weapons they were, but said the case is not moving forward.

During the Feb. 24 meeting’s segment set aside for audience participation, Arnold made a remark about shooting the president. The Warren resident later attempted to clarify the comment by saying he wasn’t going to assassinate the commander-in-chief, but rather “shoot a picture of the president of the United States” with his new camera.

Arnold was addressing the City Council about the Amazon Prime warehouse in Hazel Park using drones to deliver packages locally. He had purchased a new camera with a telephoto lens but didn’t want it delivered by drone.

“I ordered a high-powered ATL 36X arriving shortly, which I hope to actually use to shoot the president of the United States. I’m not kidding,” Arnold said while at the podium. “This is a very high, powerful item. It’s great for a headshot at a distance. I didn’t want it to be delivered by drone because I wouldn’t want something like that to be in the wrong hands.”

Arnold’s comments came on the same evening that Trump gave his State of the Union address.

“He came up after the meeting to clarify he was referring to a camera lens. I think Mr. Arnold was trying to be a bit cheeky and clever in his rhetoric,” Warren City Council President Angela Rogensues said. “He was making a joke. That’s not something to be joking about. You can’t say you’re going to shoot the president without some inquiry.”

Reached for comment, Arnold said that he has been advising the City Council about drones. Arnold said he was almost out of time to speak at the meeting when he brought up his new camera lens. His comments were made toward the end of the meeting.   

“I wanted to illustrate taking a picture of something when you can’t get close, like taking a headshot from a distance,” he said. “This is a very useful tool.”

But because of the 3-minute time limit during the public hearing, Arnold said, “I tried to cut my words, and I blew it.”

“I do not support killing people. I do not advocate assassinating our public officials. I have no intent, absolutely no intent of shooting the president,” he said. “I don’t particularly like Mr. Trump. He’s done some lousy things. He’s done some good things.”

Arnold said agents with the United States Secret Service visited his house Feb. 25 for “over an hour.” They asked him many questions and searched the house.

William Shink, a special agent in charge of the Detroit Field Office for the Secret Service, said the Secret Service is aware of the comments Arnold made, but could not confirm if they visited his house or if the matter was under investigation from their office.

“We do not comment on protective intelligence matters,” Shink said.

Arnold has since resigned his seat on the Warren Historical Commission.