Man accused by police of racial attacks, mosque threats in Michigan

A Minnesota man accused by police of attacking a number of racial minorities in Michigan together with his car and threatening mosques in metro Detroit faces a courtroom listening to in July. 

The person was recognized Thursday by the FBI Detroit workplace as Arnold Edward Ashland, 60, who’s being held on the Van Buren County jail and dealing with prices of felonious assault and fleeing or eluding police. 

Dearborn Police mentioned in a information launch final month that Ashland had made threats about “blowing up” mosques in metro Detroit. Police mentioned he additionally deliberately rammed with the car he was driving 11 “autos pushed by individuals of colour,” based on sufferer statements made to police. He was arrested by Michigan State Police in Paw Paw, about half-hour west of Kalamazoo.

After being taken into custody, Ashland, who’s white, “continued to make disparaging remarks about ladies and minorities throughout encounters with police,” Dearborn police mentioned. 

The legal professional representing Ashland, Mary Zoe Hutchins, mentioned the police reviews she noticed didn’t point out race. 

“The police reviews I’ve reviewed make no point out of any sort of hate crime, of this being racially motivated in any respect,” Hutchins mentioned Thursday.

Bail has been set at $200,000, together with his possible trigger convention set for 8:30 a.m. July 13 in seventh District Court docket in Paw Paw, county information present. Public information point out he lived in St. Paul, Minnesota.

On April 13, Dearborn Police launched a press release saying state police obtained data on attainable threats to mosques at about 2 p.m. April 12.

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“The topic in query — a 60-year-old male — reportedly made statements about ‘blowing up’ mosques close to and across the Detroit space, and was travelling from Minneapolis to Detroit in a blue sedan,” police mentioned. “… In response to sufferer statements, the topic is believed to have deliberately rammed into ‘autos pushed by individuals of colour.’”

Police didn’t discover weapons or explosives in his car, Dearborn police mentioned.

As a precaution, Dearborn police stationed officers in any respect mosques within the metropolis, which has a lot of mosques and excessive proportion of residents who’re Muslim. 

He “didn’t enter Dearborn metropolis limits at any level,” police mentioned. 

Dearborn Police directed additional inquiries to state police and the FBI. 

“Our solely involvement on this matter was making the preliminary arrest,” Shanon Banner, a spokeswoman for state police, mentioned Thursday. “The case has been turned over to the FBI.”

The threats to mosques had alarmed civil rights advocates within the Muslim neighborhood. They famous that the incidents got here throughout Ramadan, a holy month for Muslims. 

“There is no such thing as a justification for anybody to threaten sacred areas in Michigan or in every other state,” Dawud Walid, government director of the Michigan chapter of Council on American-Islamic Relations, mentioned in a press release final month. 

Walid urged mosques to evaluate their security protocols in gentle of the “threats to mosques and individuals of colour of various faiths.”

Contact Niraj Warikoo: nwarikoo@freepress.com or Twitter @nwarikoo