Last Friday, Paul Hawkins, a 30-year-old inmate at G. Robert Cotton Correctional Facility, was sentenced to 133 days in jail for making threatening posts on the Hillsdale City Police Department’s Facebook page. The announcement came from Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel.
Hawkins was found guilty in January 2025 by Judge Megan Stiverson of the 2B District Court in Hillsdale County. He faced charges of Malicious Use of a Telecommunications Service and Using a Computer to Commit a Crime.
Attorney General Nessel emphasized the seriousness of such threats: “Threats against those who serve our communities cannot and will not be tolerated,” she stated. “My office will continue to protect public officials from intimidation by prosecuting those who seek to undermine their safety and the public’s safety through fear.”
The charges stemmed from incidents in May 2024 when Hawkins, while on parole, posted messages threatening former Hillsdale County Prosecutor Neal Brady. At that time, Brady was serving as the elected prosecutor during Hawkins' earlier criminal convictions.