Detroit Teen Faces Domestic Terrorism Charge After St. Mary's Fair Threat

A Detroit teen faces a charge of domestic terrorism and 20 years in prison after a "credible threat" to the St. Mary's Polish Festival in Orchard Lake appeared on social media last week.

According to a press release issued Tuesday afternoon by the Oakland County Sheriff’s Office, authorities learned about the threat from the parents of a St. Mary's student. Sheriff's Intelligence Investigators identified the 16-year-old as one of the people who posted photos showing a handgun, an assault rifle and a photo of several fully loaded high capacity magazines for a handgun on Twitter and Instagram accounts. 

Each of the photos included a caption that made reference to the festival. 

The press release indicated that county Computer Crimes Unit and Federal Bureau of Investigation Oakland County Violent Gangs Task Force were involved, because of links to Detroit gang members who also posted threats to social media. The Detroit Public Schools Police Gang Intelligence unit and the Detroit Crime Commission also helped with the investigation.

“Threats against a family event like this fair or any event – whether by members of gangs or any individual will not be tolerated," Sheriff Michael Bouchard said. "I greatly appreciate my detectives' and our partners' work on this to remove the threat and send a strong message that any threat will be vigorously investigated and prosecuted.” 

The teen will next appear in court on June 5.

News of the arrest follows a WDIV-TV report on Monday about fights that broke out during the fair on Saturday night. A county deputy told the station that those who caused the trouble were asked to leave, and Orchard Lake Police reported no additional problems Sunday or Monday.