Threat against Palestinian Americans leads to arrest amid fear in Arab, Jewish communities

Police arrested a Farmington Hills resident Thursday on suspicion of making a threat toward Palestinian Americans in Dearborn.

Authorities have boosted security presence around houses of worship and schools amid safety concerns in Arab and Jewish communities in metro Detroit. The FBI Detroit office told the Free Press agents have been in touch with local communities around Michigan, and U.S. Sen. Gary Peters on Thursday morning visited a Royal Oak synagogue that was vandalized earlier this year to show support and talk about security.

Police on Wednesday "became aware of a credible threat made on social media proposing acts of violence against Palestinian-American residents in Dearborn," according to a news release from the Dearborn Police Department.

After an anonymous tipster sent authorities a copy of a social media post conveying the threat, officers began investigating, eventually arresting the suspect about 1 p.m. Thursday "at their residence in Farmington Hills on the probable cause of using a computer or electronic device to commit a crime," Dearborn police announced.

Police did not release further information about the suspect or the social media post.

Dearborn Mayor Abdullah Hammoud called for interfaith harmony in a statement.

"For over a century, Metro Detroit has been home to a strong interfaith tapestry formed by decades of fellowship among neighbors of Jewish, Islamic, Christian, and other faiths," Hammoud said. "We will not allow the disheartening actions of one individual to break the bonds of our longstanding relationships with one another.”

Dearborn police added that they have "increased our police presence at all places of worship and schools in Dearborn earlier this week." But it added "we are not aware of any additional credible threats."

"We remain in close, constant contact with our law enforcement partners at the federal, state, and local level, and continue to monitor social media," Dearborn police said.

The arrest comes amid concerns raised by some Arab American and Muslim advocates alleging that federal authorities are contacting activists and visiting mosques. Abed Ayoub, national executive director of the American-Arab Anti-Discrimination Committee, said the FBI has visited mosques and the homes of some Palestinian nationals. Individual cases could not be immediately confirmed Thursday.

A statement sent Thursday to the Free Press by FBI Detroit spokesperson Gabrielle Szlenkier said the office "has been in touch with local communities around the state of Michigan to reassure them we are tracking closely the events in the Middle East.

"Hate crimes and violence against members of any community will not be tolerated. We remind the public to report any suspicious or threatening activity to tips.fbi.gov."

President Joe Biden on Thursday posted to X, formerly known as Twitter, a message acknowledging the concerns.

"@VP and I spoke with our national security teams to discuss ongoing steps to protect the homeland, including Jewish, Arab, and Muslim communities, following the attacks in Israel," he wrote.

Also Thursday, Peters visited the Woodward Avenue Shul in Royal Oak, meeting with its leader, Rabbi Mendel Polter, to show his support and talk about security issues. Peters toured the Jewish center that has about 500 members and then spoke to journalists in a news conference.

Polter said his synagogue received $150,000 earlier this year as part of a program of the Department of Homeland Security that gives money to houses of worship to bolster security. Peters' office said there were $7.5 million in security grants issued to Michigan nonprofits and houses of worship like Woodward Avenue Shul. Spokespeople for Peters' office told the Free Press they could not provide specifics on other grants for security reasons.

Mendel spoke about an antisemitic incident earlier this year in which suspect Randi Nord, of Clinton Township, has been charged. A judge in May ordered Nord undergo a psychiatric evaluation to determine competency for trial. She has also been charged with arson in the attempted burning of a Scientology center in Farmington Hills in March.

Safety concerns were renewed this week after a Saturday attack by Hamas killed more than 1,300 people in Israel, followed by Israeli bombardments that have killed more than 1,530 people in Gaza, according to the Associated Press.

"We encourage everyone here to just continue standing upright and doing the right thing, bringing goodness and kindness into this world," Polter said. "And, obviously, you're going to create the ripple effect that will hopefully be able to quash this evil once and for all."

Peters said "the Jewish community here in the United States and in Michigan is also concerned with what is happening in Israel. That also puts people potentially at risk here in the country. And it is a very real concern. And it's built not just on what's happening in Israel now, but the fact that we've seen antisemitism increase to the highest levels that we have seen in decades."

Peters was criticized by some speakers Tuesday at a rally in Dearborn for not showing support to Palestinians in Gaza, who are facing Israeli strikes that the Associated Press said have led to hundreds of deaths. At the news conference at the Royal Oak synagogue, a reporter asked Peters about relations in metro Detroit between Jewish and Palestinian communities in Michigan. Peters did not reply and asked Polter to comment instead.

Polter called for tolerance.

"We all need some sort of belief system in our life," he said. "But it doesn't have to contradict other people's belief systems. ... We're not trying to prosecute anyone for their beliefs. ... We're going to actually fight for goodness, for kindness, for the truth."

Two additional rallies are planned in Dearborn this week in support of Palestinians, Friday at Henry Ford Centennial Library and Saturday at Ford Woods Park.

Contact Niraj Warikoo: nwarikoo@freepress.com, Facebook.com/nwarikoo, X @nwarikoo.

This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Threat against Palestinian Americans in Dearborn leads to arrest