Howell police chief, Livingston County Sheriff: Threats to burn Howell not credible

Over the weekend rumors of a plan to burn Howell took off on social media after a woman tweeted, "The first city to burn in michigan should be Howell, all in favor say I.”

The woman, using the username @WowDamia, has since deleted her Twitter account. 

City of Howell Police Chief Scott Mannor and Livingston County Sheriff Michael Murphy said there is no credible threat.

Mannor said a detective is investigating the social media post and said the initial tweet was deleted. 

The woman was also planning a protest in Howell on June 11, but has since canceled the event, he said. 

Mannor said he plans to reach out to the woman to discuss her plans for a protest.

"If that is what she has planned... I will touch base with her to see how we could make it go smoothly for her," he said. "I'm not against protests. Riots are bad, protests aren't."

Twitter users have voiced both support and condemnation for the post, with several referencing a Ku Klux Klan rally that took place in downtown Howell in 1994. 

Murphy was working as a sergeant for the Sheriff's Office at that time.

"There were maybe a dozen people in support," he said.

The group did not receive the public support or showing they wanted, Murphy said, and quickly left for their next stop in Lansing.

"They were in town for a half an hour, they had scheduled to be there for three or four hours," he said.

Livingston County has also been criticized for one of its past residents, Robert E. Miles, a clan leader who lived in Cohoctah Township, north of Howell before his death in 1992.

'Powder keg, just waiting'

Murphy said the country was a a 'powder keg, just waiting" before the death of George Floyd, a black man killed by a white police officer in Minneapolis. The now-fired officer pinned Floyd's neck to the ground with his knee. 

"Nationwide there is so much angst and pent up anxiety, people don't know what to do with it," he said. 

Murphy said the way Genesee County Sheriff Chris Swanson handled the protest in Flint was great. 

On Saturday Swanson and other members of his department joined protesters in a peaceful march.

"If you have a peaceful protest, we're good with that," Murphy said. "We aren't OK if you're coming here armed with Molotov cocktails." 

Contact Kayla Daugherty at 517-552-2848 or kdaugherty@gannett.com. Follow her on Twitter @KayDaugherty92.