The Michigan chapter of Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR-MI), a chapter of the nation’s largest Muslim civil rights and advocacy organization, today welcomed the criminal sentencing of a Florida man to two years in federal prison for threatening a congressman and who also made death threats against CAIR-MI staffers.
Michael Shapiro of Florida was recently sentenced to two years in federal prison for threatening to kill Rep. Eric Swalwell (D-FL) and his family in December of last year. In 2019, Shapiro plead guilty for making similar criminal threats to another person.
SEE: Florida man who left creepy voicemails and threatened to kill top Democrat and his young kids sentenced (Daily Mail)
Shapiro is also facing criminal charges for threatening CAIR-MI staffers when he called the office multiple times using expletives and made threats such as “Muslims! I’m going to kill you motherf——.”
SEE: Florida man Michael Shapiro threatened to kill Muslims in Metro Detroit, feds say (Detroit News)
“We welcome the sentencing to prison of Mr. Shapiro for his threats against Representative Swalwell and his family and expect further prison time in future sentencing against him for the threats made against our staff,” said CAIR-MI Executive Director Dawud Walid.
Walid also stated that Shapiro’s comments coincided with the ongoing genocide in Gaza and that there is a direct correlation between political rhetoric which dehumanizes Palestinians and Muslims with hate crimes and acts of discrimination against Muslims in America.
Data recently released by CAIR shows that anti-Palestinian and anti-Muslim bigotry remains elevated in the first half of 2024 just as the organization logged a record number from October 7, 2023, until the end of the year.
SEE: New CAIR Data Shows Anti-Muslim, Anti-Palestinian Hate Remain Elevated in First Half of 2024
CAIR’s mission is to protect civil rights, enhance understanding of Islam, promote justice, and empower American Muslims.
La misión de CAIR es proteger las libertades civiles, mejorar la comprensión del Islam, promover la justicia, y empoderar a los musulmanes en los Estados Unidos.
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CONTACT: CAIR-MI Executive Director Dawud Walid, 248-842-1418, dwalid@cair.com; CAIR-MI Staff Attorney Amy Doukoure, 586-943-8823, adoukoure@cair.com