The Michigan chapter of Council on American Islamic Relations (CAIR-MI), a local chapter of the nation’s largest Muslim civil rights and advocacy organization, today welcomed the guilty plea of Michael Shapiro in Federal Court for making death threats to CAIR-MI office staff in 2023.
Shapiro called the office of CAIR-MI and left several voicemail messages that contained explicit threats of death and violence toward staff. In these voicemail messages, Shapiro could be heard using Islamophobic language and telling staffers to “go back to their own country.” He was charged in March 2024 for three of these calls with three counts of transmitting threats in interstate commerce and was provided with a hate crime enhancement for the use of Islamophobic language.
Yesterday, Shapiro pleaded guilty to one count of making threats in interstate commerce and admitted in court that CAIR-MI was targeted because of the perceived religion and national origin of the staff and the people assisted by the non-profit organization. He faces up to five years in prison for his guilty plea.
SEE: Florida man pleads guilty threatening Michigan Muslim group
“We welcome the guilty plea in this case and hope it sends a strong message that violence or threats of violence targeting minority communities will not be tolerated and that the perpetrators will be brought to justice,” said CAIR-MI Executive Director Dawud Walid. “His sentencing should
Walid noted that from January to June 2024, CAIR documented 4,951 incoming bias complaints nationwide, a 69 percent increase over the same period in 2023.
SEE: New CAIR Data Shows Anti-Muslim, Anti-Palestinian Hate Remain Elevated in First Half of 2024
Earlier this year, CAIR’s national office released its 2024 civil rights report, which revealed the highest number of complaints it has ever received in its 30-year history. Titled “Fatal: The Resurgence of Anti-Muslim Hate,” the report documented 8,061 complaints. Nearly half of all complaints received in 2023 were reported in the final three months of the year.
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CONTACT: CAIR-MI Executive Director, Dawud Walid (248) 842-1418, dwalid@cair.com; CAIR-MI Staff Attorney, Amy V. Doukoure, (586) 943-8823, adoukoure@cair.com