Lake Orion man charged with threatening to kill Whitmer, Benson and Michigan Supreme Court

A Lake Orion man faces nine terrorism charges and a $5 million bond after prosecutors say he emailed a Michigan journalist threatening to kill Gov. Gretchen Whitmer, Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson and the Michigan Supreme Court, Attorney General Dana Nessel's office said.

Anthony Dekinderen, 61, was arraigned Saturday in 52-3 District Court in Rochester Hills on nine counts of false report or threat of terrorism, each a 20-year felony. He was also ordered to wear a GPS tether and is scheduled to appear in court again Sept. 28.

In a second case announced at the same time, Alicia Choucair, 33, of Roseville, is charged with two counts of false report or threat of terrorism and one count of using a computer to commit a crime — each a 20-year felony — along with one count of hate crime, true threat, a 2-year felony.

Prosecutors allege Choucair called a local dispatch center and threatened violence against a mosque and Dearborn Mayor Abdullah Hammoud if "your people" weren't kept out of her town. The attorney general's office did not identify the mosque or say which community Choucair was referring to.

Choucair was arraigned Thursday in 19th District Court in Dearborn and given a $20,000 cash or surety bond. A probable cause conference is set for Sept. 30.

Nessel said threats against officials at all levels of government are becoming increasingly common.

"Let these charges serve as a warning that Michigan takes threats of violence very seriously and will prosecute these cases to the fullest extent of the law," Nessel said.

Nessel launched the state's Hate Crimes and Domestic Terrorism Unit in 2019. Nessel is urging residents to report threats, suspicious activity and bias-motivated violence to their local police department first, then to the attorney general's office at HateCrimes@michigan.gov.