Florida man convicted of threatening Muslims in Metro Detroit sentenced

Charles E. Ramirez, The Detroit News on Mar 21, 2025

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DETROIT — A 73-year-old Florida man convicted of threatening an American Muslim group in Metro Detroit has been sentenced to prison, officials said.

Michael Shapiro was given 18 months by a judge in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Michigan in Detroit, Acting United States Attorney for the Eastern District of Michigan Julie Beck announced Thursday.

"No one should be able to instill fear on an entire community by threatening violence," Beck said in a statement. "Today’s sentence sends a strong message that people who do so, especially when motivated by bias, will be aggressively prosecuted and severely punished."

His sentence comes a little more than a year after a federal grand injury indicted him on a hate crime. Shapiro pleaded guilty in November to federal charges for making death threats against the Council on American-Islamic Relations, or CAIR-MI, in Canton.

The defendant pleaded guilty to transmitting a threat in interstate commerce.

Shapiro's attorney was not immediately available for comment on Friday.

However, in a sentencing memorandum she submitted on his behalf to the federal court judge, she said her client is a widower and was once an attorney in New York. She also wrote he has been disbarred and alone.

"At the time of the offense, Mr. Shapiro was a 72-year-old man battling severe Major Depressive Disorder and Alcohol Use Disorder," the memo said. "Though no excuse for the harm he has caused, Mr. Shapiro’s chronic mental health and substance use issues are important underlying factors that shed light on his behavior in this and prior cases."

Her memo also said: "His alcoholism and depression have alienated him from his children, impaired his judgment, and led him to act impulsively in response to politically divisive news stories."

She said he is ashamed of his actions in the case.

Authorities alleged Shapiro, of West Palm Beach, Fla. called CAIR-MI's office six times and left three threatening voicemails in 2023.

In one, he said, "I’m going to kill you bastards. I’m going to kill you bastards," according to court documents. In another, he said: "You’re a violent people. Why do you come to America? Why do you come to Europe? Mother f******s! You're violent. You're killers. You're rapists. I’m going to kill you mother f*****s!"

As part of his plea, the defendant admitted he intentionally selected CAIR as the target of his threat because of the actual and perceived religion and national origin of those who work at the organization and the people it helps, officials said.

"Today's sentencing of Michael Shapiro highlights the severe consequences of hate-driven threats and sends a strong message to others with similar malicious intentions," Cheyvoryea Gibson, Special Agent in Charge of the FBI in Michigan, said in a statement. "Mr. Shapiro's sentence serves as a stark reminder of our critical role in investigating federal hate crimes. We (and our law enforcement partners) have ensured justice was served by holding Mr. Shapiro accountable for his actions."

Last week, in its annual Civil Rights Report, the Council on American-Islamic Relations' national organization said Islamophobia continues to be at an all-time high across the country.

The report said CAIR offices nationwide received a total of 8,658 complaints in 2024 — the highest number ever recorded since the organization’s first civil rights report in 1996. It's also a 7.4% increase in complaints from 8,061 the group's offices received in 2023.

"Vigorous public debate, a hallmark of a healthy democracy, was replaced by crackdowns on people expressing politically disfavored viewpoints in 2024," Corey Saylor, CAIR's research and advocacy director, said in a statement. "Speaking out against Israel’s policies of apartheid, occupation, and genocide came with a price.

"For the first time in our report’s nearly 30-year history, complaints reported to us were often the result of viewpoint discrimination rather than religious identity.”

Shapiro's case is among the most recent involving hate crimes prosecuted by authorities.

Earlier this week, a Warren man who spray painted swastikas, the word "die" and other graffiti on a predominantly Black church in Roseville in 2021 was sentenced to a year in prison.

Also this week, a 78-year-old St. Clair Shores man who emailed threats to CAIR-MI and its leader was sentenced. He was charged in February with ethnic intimidation.

In December, an Owosso man pleaded guilty in federal court in Flint to attempting a mass killing plot targeting gay people. He is scheduled to be sentenced on April 15.

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