Florida man charged after allegedly threatening to kill Muslims in Michigan
(CBS DETROIT) - A Florida man has been charged after he allegedly made calls to an American Muslim organization in Michigan and threatened to kill its members, officials said.
Michael Shapiro, 72, of West Palm Beach, was indicted by a grand jury after he threatened members of the Michigan chapter of the Council on American-Islamic Relations.
Shapiro was charged with three counts of transmitting threats to interstate commerce and faces up to 10 years in prison for each count.
He made three separate phone calls to the CAIR office in Canton and left threatening voicemails. In a voicemail left on Dec. 8, 2023, Shapiro left a voicemail saying, "I'm going to kill you bastards. I'm going to kill you bastards."
Then, on Dec. 14, 2023, he left a message saying, "I'm going to kill you, m****r f*****g bastards. Muslims! I'm going to kill you, m****r f*****s. I'm going to kill you! I'm going to kill you! I'm going to kill you!"
The third message was left the next day, on Dec. 15, 2023, in which he said, "You're a violent people. Why do you come to America? Why do you come to Europe? M***** f******. You're violent. You're killers. You're rapists. I'm going to kill you, m****r f*****s!"
According to the indictment, it is alleged that Shapiro intentionally chose CAIR-Michigan as the victim because of the actual and perceived religion and national origin of the organization's members.
"Threats motivated by religious bias can have a devastating impact on an entire faith community. For this reason, hate crimes are one of the FBI's highest investigative priorities," said Cheyvoryea Gibson, the Special Agent in Charge of the FBI in Michigan. "We remain committed to working with our partners at the Canton Police Department and across the state to detect and prevent violent incidents motivated by bias or hate. We also urge the public to report any suspected hate crimes to your local police or the FBI at 1-800-225-5324. You may also submit an online tip at tips.fbi.gov."
