From the HERE City State Desk
A 31-year-old Howell man has been arraigned on charges that he threatened to kill a sitting circuit court judge, Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel announced Wednesday.
Kyle Fawaz was arraigned in 53rd District Court. He is charged with one count of making a terroristic threat and one count of using a computer to commit a crime, both 20-year felonies, plus one count of malicious use of telecommunications services, a six-month misdemeanor.
Prosecutors allege that in August, Fawaz sent several text messages to his probation officer saying he intended to kill a specific judge. The messages also allegedly claimed he had large quantities of chemicals that could be used to make a bomb and described how they could be combined.
The judge had presided over an earlier criminal case involving Fawaz in the 3rd Circuit Court, according to the attorney general. Details of that case were not released.
Nessel said public servants should not have to fear for their safety for doing their jobs. The case is being handled by the Hate Crimes and Domestic Terrorism Unit she created in 2019. The charges are allegations, and Fawaz is presumed innocent unless proven guilty in court.