Attorney General Nessel warns residents about USPS scam during the holiday season
December 22nd, 20230 LANSING – Many people are using the mail to send gifts to loved ones during the holidays. Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel is warning residents about fraudulent smishing text messages purporting to be from the United States Postal Service (USPS) this holiday season. “Hundreds of millions of packages are shipped each...
Melvindale man pleads guilty after police recover 18 weapons, fake fed IDs from home
December 15th, 20230 MELVINDALE – On Tuesday, a Melvindale man pleaded guilty to several charges related to illegal firearm possession – after being found with 18 guns and 2 counterfeit law enforcement badges earlier this year. Saliah Algahmi, 37, has been charged with "unlawful possession of a firearm by a person who has been committed to a mental...
Detroit man accused of threatening “to kill Arabs” in Clinton Township voicemail
December 15th, 20230 A Detroit man has been charged on allegations he left a voicemail with his Clinton Township-based attorney threatening to kill people of Arabic descent, according to the Michigan Attorney General’s Office press statement. Walter Purvis, 53, was arraigned Monday on a charge of false report or threat of terrorism in 41B District Court...
Detroit man charged in fatal stabbing of Detroit synagogue president Samantha Woll
December 15th, 20230 DETROIT — On Wednesday, A Detroit man was charged with the fatal Oct. 21 stabbing of Detroit synagogue president Samantha Woll during a home invasion, Wayne County Prosecutor Kym Worthy announced. Michael Jackson-Bolanos, 28, has been charged with committing a felony murder during the perpetration or attempted perpetration of a...
FBI and DHS release threats of violence public service announcement
December 15th, 20230 The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) and Department of Homeland Security (DHS) have issued a public service announcement regarding potential threats across the nation from various actors during the upcoming winter season. This announcement comes following the continued violence between Israel and Hamas. The FBI warns of the...
For years, the FBI quietly stopped tracking anti-Arab violence and hate crimes
December 8th, 20230 The families of three college students of Palestinian descent who were shot on November 25 in Vermont are calling it a crime "fueled by hate." So far, police in Burlington say they don't have information to suggest what the motive for the attack was. Still, the shooting surfaces long-standing issues in tracking possible hate crimes...
Prosecutor: Detroit gas station clerk’s fatal shooting of teen was in self-defense
December 1st, 20231 DETROIT – A 28-year-old gas station store clerk from Dearborn will not be charged in connection to the fatal shooting of 17-year-old Yaqoub Nagi from Detroit, according to the Wayne County Prosecutor's Office. The clerk acted in "lawful self-defense" when he fatally shot Nagi at a Citgo gas station in Detroit, the Prosecutor's...
Suspect pleads not guilty after shooting three college students of Palestinian descent
December 1st, 20230 BURLINGTON, VT — A suspect has been arrested following the shooting of three college students of Palestinian descent in Burlington, Vermont. The students were seriously injured following the shooting. Authorities are investigating it as a potential hate crime, according to reports. The shooting occurred last Saturday evening...
Obama-era former National Security Council official arrested for spewing Islamophobic language at food vendor
November 24th, 20230 NEW YORK – A former Obama-era National Security Council official has been arrested after a series of videos shared widely on social media showed him using hate-laden, Islamophobic language against an employee working inside a New York City food cart, police said. Stuart Seldowitz, 64, was arrested Wednesday on preliminary charges of...
Two Muslim students stabbed in Fremont, California in possible hate crime
November 21st, 20230 By Sunita Sohrabji “My brother’s wounds will eventually heal, but the trauma will remain for a very long time.” — Arfat Yafai, brother of Khalid Yafai, who remains on a ventilator in the ICU after undergoing three surgeries. Stabbing victim Khalid Yafai has been on a ventilator since Nov. 17, unable...
Former Hamtramck police officer pleads guilty to bribery
November 2nd, 20230 DETROIT — A former police officer with the Hamtramck Police Department recently pleaded guilty to taking bribes from a towing company operator, United States Attorney Dawn N. Ison announced. Ison was joined in the Oct. 26 announcement by Cheyvoryea Gibson, special agent in charge of the Detroit Field Office of the Federal Bureau of...
Dearborn Heights man facing multiple felony charges in connection with banquet hall shooting
October 22nd, 20230 DEARBORN – Wayne County Prosecutor Kym Worthy has charged a man in connection with a non-fatal shooting that took place at a banquet hall. Haider Mohammed Al-Jebori, 60, of Dearborn Heights, has been charged with assault with intent to murder, assault with intent to do great bodily harm, discharge in or at a building, felonious...
Farmington Hills man charged with terrorism after posting threat to “hunt Palestinians” in Dearborn
October 20th, 20230 DEARBORN – Wayne County Prosecutor Kym Worthy filed threat of terrorism charges, which is up to 20 years in prison, and malicious use of a telecommunications device, which is a misdemeanor, against a Farmington Hills man after he posted a threat online inviting people to "hunt Palestinians" in the wake of the Israeli war on the Gaza...
Illinois man charged with hate crime in fatal stabbing of Muslim boy, wounding his mother
October 20th, 20230 PLAINFIELD TOWNSHIP, IL – An Illinois man was charged with hate crimes for stabbing a 6-year-old Muslim boy to death and wounding his mother in an attack that targeted them for their religion and as a response to the Israeli war on Gaza, officials and Muslim rights activists said on Sunday. Wadea Al-Fayoume was stabbed 26 times with...
Three suspects charged in connection with fatal shooting of Hassan Salame
September 29th, 20230 DEARBORN – On September 22, Lindsay Thurmond and Quenton Goston were arraigned in the 19th District Court in front of Judge Mark W. Somers on charges of homicide, felony murder and murder first degree premeditated. Goston was also charged with habitual offender, fourth offense and Thurmond received an additional charge of habitual......
CAIR-MI announces settlement with the Detroit Police Department for the discriminatory arrest of three Muslim men
September 29th, 20230 DETROIT – The Michigan chapter of the Council on American Islamic Relations (CAIR-MI), a local chapter of the nation’s largest Muslim civil rights and advocacy organization, recently announced a settlement has been reached with the city of Detroit for the discriminatory arrest of three Muslim men in 2020. In 2021, CAIR-MI filed a...
Man sentenced to 30-50 years for Dearborn Hampton Inn murder
September 10th, 20230 DEARBORN – A man received a 30 to 50 year prison sentence Wednesday for a fatal shooting at the Dearborn Hampton Inn last year. Reichard Lee Williams-Lewis shot and killed 55-year-old hotel employee Tyrone Chapple on Oct. 6, 2022. Williams-Lewis pleaded guilty to second-degree murder last month. Police said Chapple was getting......
Judge dismisses charges against former Dearborn Heights officer in assault on Arab American officer, Wayne County prosecutor to appeal decision
September 10th, 20231 DEARBORN HEIGHTS – A former Dearborn Heights police officer had two felony counts of assault with a dangerous weapon thrown out during a preliminary evidence hearing in the 20th District Court, Aug. 30. The charges against Paul Graf, 33, stemmed from a December 2021 incident in the locker room at the Dearborn Heights Police...
Man who assaulted teen, hurled racial slurs at him, pleads guilty
September 10th, 20230 LIVONIA – The man who attacked a 13-year-old boy and yelled racial slurs after bumping into him in a stairway in Livonia pleaded guilty. The incident occurred June 8 at the Kirksey Recreation Center in the 15100 block of Hubbard Road. Officials say Moeez Irfan, 29, of Livonia, bumped into the teen while they passed each other on...
Warren police bust large drug operation, seize 2,000 fentanyl pills
September 9th, 20230 WARREN – Thousands of potentially deadly pills are off the streets of Warren after a major bust by Warren police. "You could call him a murderer — that's what he is, he's killing people," said Commissioner Bill Dwyer. That’s how Dwyer characterizes a recent arrestee — a Sterling Heights man — making fentanyl pills...
Dearborn fire chief arrested for drunk driving, placed on administrative leave
September 2nd, 20230 DEARBORN — Fire Chief Joseph Murray has been placed on administrative leave following an arrest for allegedly operating a vehicle while under the influence. Murray was placed under arrest at around 3 a.m. on August 29 after being pulled over by Dearborn Heights police near Telegraph Road and Dartmouth Street. Police pulled him over......
Trump ally charged in Michigan over voting machine tampering
August 7th, 20230 LANSING — A Michigan attorney involved in multiple efforts around the country to overturn the 2020 election in support of former President Trump has been charged in connection with accessing and tampering with voting machines in Michigan, prosecutors announced Thursday. The charges against Stefanie Lambert come days after Matthew...
Trump pleads not guilty of plotting to overturn 2020 presidential election
August 4th, 20230 WASHINGTON, D.C. – Donald Trump pleaded not guilty on Thursday to charges he orchestrated a plot to try to overturn his 2020 election loss in what U.S. prosecutors call an unprecedented effort by the then-president to undermine the pillars of American democracy. Special Counsel Jack Smith, who has overseen the federal investigation,......
Former Dearborn Heights police officer faces assault charges after threatening fellow officer with a knife
July 29th, 20230 DEARBORN HEIGHTS — A former Dearborn Heights police officer has been arraigned on two felony counts of assault with a dangerous weapon. The incident occurred in December 2021 and involved former officer Paul Graff, 33, and a fellow, 23-year-old DHPD officer and is believed to be racially-motivated as Graff is White and allegedly...
One suspect involved in vandalizing Warren Valley Golf Course in Dearborn Heights turns himself in to police
July 22nd, 20230 DEARBORN HEIGHTS – Informed sources told The Arab American News that one of the people involved in vandalizing the Warren Valley Golf Course in Dearborn Heights has turned himself in to the local authorities who are pursuing investigations in order to reach at least two other people who were involved in causing severe damage to the......
