Journal staff
After reports of multiple unmarked cars with federal agents in the courthouse parking lot Thursday, July 24, community protestors gathered to ask for identification. Sheriff Eric Peter arrived after the protestors insisted he be called, according to the protestors, 30 minutes after the initial 9-1-1 calls.
The agents told the Journal they were not Immigration and Customs Enforcement; they were U.S. Marshals with an arrest warrant. The Marshals had spoken wish Peter that morning, and he was in the process of notifying courthouse departments but was delayed by another urgent issue.
A witness said they saw a vehicle full of automatic weapons when the door was opened, and armed agents (one of whom dropped a weapon on the ground). That witness said there was no communication or warning to anyone in the courthouse or theater about what was going on. They called 9-1-1, but local law enforcement was not present until after community members arrived.
Peter told the Journal that the person, a white male named Jared M. Lodholm, born May 12, 1988, was wanted on felony warrants out of Michigan for both sexual assault and absconding. He has been known to flee in the past, Peter said, so the Marshals were trying to be cautious and not give him any heads up. While a commotion at the courthouse was caused, Lodholm was apprehended within hours of that incident and will be extradited to Michigan.
The US Marshals Service is a federal agency. According to their website, the Marshals’ responsibilities include protecting the federal judiciary, apprehending federal fugitives, managing and selling seized assets acquired by criminals through illegal activities, housing and transporting federal prisoners and operating the Witness Security Program.
In a public statement, Peter said, “Thank you to the U.S. Marshal Service for locating and arresting this wanted person in our community and for connecting with the SICSO on this matter.”
“I’ve worked with US Marshals and they operate very quickly,” Peter told the Journal, “By the time they move, they have the current evidence and are able to move in and get the job done.”
