Two Michigan residents charged with making terrorist threats against state officials

Attorney General Dana Nessel on Monday announced charges against two Michigan residents accused of making terrorist threats against public officials in unrelated incidents, including the mayor of Dearborn, Gov. Gretchen Whitmer, Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson and members of the Michigan Supreme Court.

Alicia Choucair, 33, of Roseville, Michigan, and Anthony Dekinderen, 61, of Lake Orion, Michigan, were arraigned late last week, Nessel’s office said in a news release.

Choucair is alleged to have called a local police dispatch threatening violence against a mosque and Dearborn Mayor Abdullah Hammoud. She was charged with two counts of making a false report and a threat of terrorism, and one count of committing a hate crime. Choucair allegedly threatened the mosque and Hammoud by saying the threat would occur if “your people” weren’t kept out of town, a reference to Arabs and Muslims in the predominantly Arab and Muslim city.

Choucair was arraigned Sept. 17 before a Wayne County 19th District Court judge. She was given a $20,000 cash or surety bond and is scheduled to next appear for a probable cause hearing on Sept. 30. She remained in custody as of Monday afternoon. If convicted, she faces up to 20 years in prison for each count of a false report and threat of terrorism and a two-year sentence for committing a hate crime. 

Dekinderen is alleged to have sent two threatening emails to Michigan Advance, part of the States Newsroom network. The emails allegedly contained threats to kill members of the Michigan Supreme Court, Whitmer and Benson, Nessel’s office said.

Dekinderen was charged with nine counts of sending a false report or a threat of terrorism, the attorney general’s office said, each carrying a 20-year prison sentence. He was arraigned before an Oakland County 52-3 District Court judge in Rochester Hills on Sept. 19 and was granted a $5 million bond with a requirement to wear a GPS tether. 

Oakland County jail records indicate that Dekinderen was still incarcerated as of Monday afternoon. He is scheduled to next appear in court on Sept. 28.

“Thousands of Michigan residents answer the call to serve through elected office, be it as the local mayor or in statewide office. Unfortunately, hate crimes and threats of terrorism against officials at all levels of government are becoming increasingly common,” Nessel said in a statement. “Let these charges serve as a warning that Michigan takes threats of violence very seriously and will prosecute these cases to the fullest extent of the law.”

Denkinderen sent two emails to the Advance on Sept. 14, containing slurs and threats to a reporter and threats to the officials.

A message seeking comment from Dekinderen’s attorney was not returned at the time of publication. This story will be updated once a response is received.

“We take threats of violence seriously,” said Jon King, Michigan Advance editor-in-chief. “The emails our journalist received were alarming, so we turned them over to the Michigan Department of Attorney General’s office immediately. The safety and security of our staff and the public officials named is our top priority.”