Tea party radio host misses felony court date because he was in jail for extortion and drugs

A Michigan tea party activist missed a scheduled court appearance in Wisconsin because he spent Thanksgiving weekend in jail on felony charges in the Upper Peninsula.

Doug Sedenquist was arrested last week and charged with extortion, using a computer to commit a crime, aggravated stalking and possession of a drug chemically similar to a controlled substance.

The extortion and computer crime charges each carry possible 20-year prison terms, said Delta County Chief Assistant Prosecutor Philip Strom.

The 51-year-old Sedenquist, a member of the Republican State Central Committee in Michigan and former vice chairman of the Delta County GOP, had been ordered to appear Tuesday in court in Green Bay, Wisconsin, in a separate case.

Sedenquist had been charged with refusing to comply with a police officer’s attempt to take him into custody -- a felony -- and misdemeanor charges of sending a threatening message and disorderly conduct in connection with a March 3 incident involving his estranged wife.

Police said the co-host of WPIQ-FM’s “Devin and Doug” radio program refused to put down a rifle he’d pointed at his own midsection inside his truck in the previous incident.

Details about his most recent arrest were not available.

His wife said the couple separated last year after he attacked their teenage daughters.

Sedenquist is an outspoken advocate of open-carry gun rights and critic of Medicaid expansion legislation, gay marriage and Islam.