Man Threatens To Kill Arabs In Clinton Township Voicemail: Police

CLINTON TOWNSHIP, MI — A Detroit man is facing charges after threatening to kill Arabs in a voicemail left for his attorney, who is based in Clinton Township, according to Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel.

Walter Purvis, 53, was charged with one count of false report or threat of terrorism. He was placed in the Macomb County Jail on a $500,000 bond. His next court date is scheduled for Dec. 18.

If Purvis is released from jail, he will be under house arrest and have an electronic tether, officials said.

Since Purvis was charged as a habitual fourth offender, he faces up to life in prison or any number of years.

Officials said Purvis was not happy with the outcome of a criminal case in which he pleaded guilty to one count of disturbing the peace for an incident at a Southfield gas station.

Purvis made multiple calls expressing his dissatisfaction to the attorney who represented him before leaving the alleged threatening voicemail, according to Nessel's office.

In the voicemail, officials said Purvis "described a grievance with Arabs arising out of his criminal case and threatened to assassinate them."

"This was a serious, racially biased threat of violence left on the voicemail of someone who, as an attorney, had no choice but to report the potential threat," Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel said in the release.