(WWJ) – A Detroit man has been charged with false report or threat of terrorism for allegedly threatening to “assassinate” Arabs in a voicemail left for his attorney,
Walter Purvis, 53, was arraigned Monday on the charge, which stems from the outcome of a criminal matter in which was “dissatisfied” with his Clinton Township-based attorney, according to Attorney General Dana Nessel’s office.
In that original case, Purvis pleaded guilty to one count of disturbing the peace, stemming from an incident at a Southfield gas station, according to the AG.
Nessel's office did not release any further information about the incident at the gas station.
Purvis had “placed multiple calls expressing this dissatisfaction to the attorney who had represented him before leaving the alleged threatening voicemail,” officials said. In the voicemail, Purvis allegedly “described a grievance with Arabs arising out of his criminal case and threatened to assassinate them.”
Nessel on Tuesday called the alleged threat “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.”
Purvis was charged as a habitual fourth offender, with the offense potentially punishable by incarceration up to life or any term of years, according to the AG’s office. Purvis’s bond was set at $500,000 cash/surety. Should he be released, he would be ordered to house arrest and be electronically tethered.
His next court date is scheduled for Dec. 18.