DEARBORN — Prosecutors have filed several criminal charges against an Arab American woman from Roseville after she called Dearborn police and threatened violence against Arabs coming from Dearborn to Macomb County.

The defendant, Alicia Choucair, 33, appeared in Dearborn’s 19th District Court, where her bond was set at $20,000 pending her next court appearance on September 30.

The charges include two counts of making a false report or threat of terrorism, one count of using a computer to commit a crime and one count of making a hate crime “true threat.”

Each of the first two charges carries a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison and a $20,000 fine. The hate crime charge carries a maximum sentence of two years in prison and a $5,000 fine.

According to prosecutors, Choucair called Dearborn’s dispatch center on September 14 and threatened violence against a local mosque and Mayor Abdullah Hammoud unless people she described as “his followers” were prevented from entering Macomb County. She used profane language about Dearborn’s Arab and Muslim residents, although she herself had previously lived in the city.

During the call, Choucair, who described herself as Christian, threatened to shoot Arabs from Dearborn. She asked the dispatcher to keep people she called “garbage” and “trash” in Dearborn, saying she did not want them coming to her area.

People who claimed to know Choucair said on social media that she is a Muslim of Lebanese descent but claims to have converted to Christianity.

Choucair also has a criminal history in Dearborn, where she once lived and graduated from school before moving to Macomb County.

Dearborn police arrested Choucair in the summer of 2015 after catching her and an African American man in the act of attempting to break into a home on Ternes Street in east Dearborn. Investigators at the time suspected Choucair and her accomplice of involvement in a series of thefts targeting homes and vehicles in Dearborn and Dearborn Heights. She was 21-years-old at the time.

The Michigan chapter of the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) welcomed the charges brought against Choucair within two days of her call.

“Threats of violence aimed at houses of worship and elected leaders cross a dangerous line and threaten the safety and peace of our entire community,” said Dawud Walid, executive director of CAIR-Michigan.

Another case

The charges against Choucair were announced in a statement from the Michigan Attorney General’s Office that also reported nine similar charges against a Lake Orion man. He is accused of emailing a journalist threats to kill Gov. Whitmer, Secretary of State Benson and members of the Michigan Supreme Court.

Anthony Dekinderen, 61, appeared in court in Rochester Hills last Saturday. He faces nine counts of making a false report or threat of terrorism, each punishable by up to 20 years in prison.

His bond was set at $5 million, with a requirement that he wear an electronic tracking device if he posts bond before his next court appearance on September 28.

Commenting on the two cases, Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel said in the statement that threats against government officials at all levels have become increasingly common. She emphasized that state authorities treat threats of violence as serious crimes.

Nessel added that the charges send a warning that Michigan will take threats of violence seriously and prosecute such cases to the fullest extent permitted by law.

The Hate Crimes and Domestic Terrorism Unit, which Nessel established in 2019, urged Michigan residents to report threats, suspicious activity and acts of violence motivated by bias or hatred to local police and then to the Attorney General’s Office.