Oakland County Man Charged In Online Threat Against Dearborn Residents

DEARBORN, MI — An Oakland County man is facing charges after police said he threatened violence against a group of people in Dearborn.

Carl Mintz, 41, from Farmington Hills, was charged with one felony count of threat of terrorism and a misdemeanor count of malicious use of a telecom device. He was placed in jail on a $500,000 bond.

If he is bailed out, Mintz must wear a GPS tether device and is banned from possessing weapons and using the internet. His next court date is expected to take place sometime later this month, police said.

Police said Mintz posted an online threat of violence Wednesday against Palestinian-American residents of Dearborn. He allegedly asked if anyone in Metro Detroit wanted to "go to Dearborn and hunt Palestinians," according to a screenshot of the post Dearborn police shared with The Detroit News.

"We take all threats very seriously. Although we are currently unaware of any further credible threats, we have increased police patrols across Dearborn and at all places of worship in the interest of the public safety and security of our city’s residents, workers, and visitors," Dearborn Police Chief Issa Shahin said.

The arrest comes as Dearborn Mayor Abdullah H. Hammoud said the Dearborn Police Department is ramping up patrols to provide more security at facilities, including places of worship, around the city.

"In this era of digital threats, I want to make it explicitly clear: any and all threats made on social media that are reported to our department, or that we come across, are being closely monitored, investigated, and acted upon," Hammoud said.