Michigan man accused of attacking black postal worker with knife over Kamala Harris election mailers

A Michigan man is accused of attacking a Black postal worker with a knife because he was furious about receiving political ads for Kamala Harris.

Prosecutors in Farmington Hills, a Detroit suburb, on Friday charged Russell Frank Valleau, 61, with assault and ethnic intimidation, the latter of which carries a maximum sentence of two years in prison.

Valleau was reportedly arrested the previous evening after hurling racial slurs at a U.S. Postal Service mail carrier and “lunging” at her with a blade, forcing her to fend him off with her service-issued pepper spray.

A statement from Oakland County Prosecutor Karen McDonald said this was not simply a case of a citizen tired of election season and the flood of fliers that comes with it.

“The defendant was allegedly upset about receiving mail regarding presidential candidate Kamala Harris and stated that he did not want this ‘black bitch’ in his mailbox,” McDonald said.

“He then called the mailman a ‘black bitch’ and threatened him. The mailman used pepper spray to arrest the defendant. When police arrived, the defendant was found nearby.”

According to a police press release consulted by Law and crimethe mailman called for help around 5 p.m., saying the man was angry after receiving ads from the Harris campaign and appeared drunk.

After being pepper sprayed in the face, Valleau allegedly fled and was later discovered and arrested in a neighbor’s yard.

Public documents consulted by The Independent described Valleau, a registered voter, as a white man with brown hair and blue eyes, 5 feet 10 inches tall and weighing 155 pounds.

They also show a decades-long history of criminal arrests and convictions, ranging from aggravated stalking to domestic violence to gun possession by a felon.

“In this very charged political time, everyone is entitled to their political opinion and their vote,” McDonald said Friday.

“Regardless of our political beliefs, no one should be attacked or threatened because of their race or because of their job. Hate crimes concern us all and we will vigorously pursue all cases of this type.”