ESCANABA — An Escanaba woman who recently threatened to blow up a state building in downtown Escanaba could be charged criminally, pending a review of the incident by the Delta County Prosecutor’s Office.

According to Escanaba Public Safety, shortly before 1 p.m. on Thursday, an unidentified 50-year-old woman “made a threatening statement about blowing up the Social Security Administration building followed by a statement that she was only kidding.”

After being notified about the comment communicated over the telephone, Escanaba Public Safety located the woman and interviewed her regarding her threatening statement. She told police she was kidding about blowing up the Social Security building and had made the threat because she was upset over a disputed benefit refund.

Following collaborations between federal, state and local law enforcement, the incident was referred to the county prosecutor’s office for review of criminal charges, explained Det./Sgt. Tony LaPlant who is in charge of the local investigation.

“This is something we take very seriously,” LaPlant commented this morning, explaining that any threat regarding the safety and security of the public is immediately addressed by law enforcement.

“Given the current state of affairs in the nation, no threat will be tolerated,” the detective added.

To ensure the public’s safety, local police officials notified the FBI office in Marquette, the office of the inspector general for the Social Security Administration, and the office of the inspector general for the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services about the threat, said LaPlant.

In a news release issued Tuesday, Escanaba Public Safety stated, based on the investigation, the female subject had not made any overt acts or plans to carry out her threat and she was not intending to do so in the future.