Man arrested after allegedly threatening 4 Muslim men near Troy library

A 79-year-old man is accused of threatening to kill four Muslim men outside the Troy Public Library. 

Peter Hamilton Northup of Troy is charged with four counts of aggravated hate crime, the Oakland County Prosecutor Karen McDonald said. 

The incident in question occurred on Saturday afternoon. That's when the Michigan chapter of the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR-MI) said the four men were at a table distributing English translations of the Quran, the Islamic faith's holy book, and answering questions from the public about Islam. Their table was set up outside the library building. 

Northup approached the table, CAIR-MI said, asking what they were doing and whether they were Muslim. In response to the conversation, he allegedly told the group he had a gun and threatened to kill all four of them, prosecutors said. 

"These men were peacefully exercising their constitutional rights, sharing information about their faith and answering questions from their neighbors, when they were allegedly targeted with an explicit death threat for one reason: because they are Muslim," said CAIR-MI Executive Director Dawud Wali. 

Troy police located and arrested Northup, who was carrying a loaded pistol, prosecutors said. 

"Islamophobia is never acceptable," McDonald said. "The victims in this case were threatened simply for exercising their First Amendment rights. There is never an excuse for hurting people because of who they are or what they believe."  

According to prosecutors, Northup has dementia and has a history of prior welfare checks related to his mental health. Northup is a concealed license pistol holder and had 22 guns registered in his name, McDonald said. 

Troy police have filed an extreme risk protection order and have seized 19 guns from Northup, prosecutors said.