LANSING, Mich., (Michigan News Source) – In 2019, Dana Nessel launched a Domestic Terrorism Unit that was the first of its kind in the country.
Nessel’s office published four press releases on what that Domestic Terrorism Unit has accomplished over the past 18 months.
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One January 2024 press released involved a 53-year-old Detroit man who was charged for allegedly threatening to kill Arabs in a voicemail left for his Clinton Township-based attorney. Another January 2024 press release involved a 50-year-old Hillsdale man who left an audio message threatening to gut a county sheriff. A March 2024 press release involved a Washington, Mich. man who sent social media messages and telephone voicemails threatening Shiawassee County officials.
In May 2025, the U.S. Department of Justice said it stopped Ammar Abdulmajid-Mohamed Said from his plan to conduct a mass shooting at the military base in Warren on behalf of ISIS. The U.S. Department of Justice didn’t mention the Michigan AG office in its press release. That press release mentioned the work of the U.S. Army’s special agents and the FBI.
The Attorney General’s office didn’t respond to an email asking for other non-published recent accomplishments of the Domestic Terrorism Unit.
The AG’s office also put out a press release in November 2024 about Jihaad Ahmad who was charged with a false report or threat of terrorism. But that press release did not mention the Domestic Terrorism Unit. Ahmad sent a letter to Gov. Gretchen Whitmer’s house threatening her life and saying he would bomb her residence when he got out of prison.
In February 2025, the AG put out a press release about a man in a Jackson County jail sending threatening Facebook messages to the city of Hillsdale’s police department. The press release did not mention the Domestic Terrorism Unit.
In may 2024, a Westland man was charged with one count of Using a Computer to Commit a Crime and one count of Malicious Use of a Telecommunications Service for sending messages online to a politician and threatening to kill the governor. That press release didn’t mention the Domestic Terrorism Unit was involved in the investigation.
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In July 2024, a Fruitport man was charged with a False Report or Threat of Terrorism and Using a Computer to Commit a Crime. The Domestic Terrorism Unit was not mentioned. In a filing, the man stated, “What is it going to take, somebody to get shot before the State acts on it?”
“Our Hate Crimes and Domestic Terrorism Unit works tirelessly to hold those who threaten our democracy accountable,” Nessel said in a January 2025 press release.