A 26-year-old man has been charged with false report or threat of terrorism after he allegedly threatened to shoot people at a packed outdoor music event outside Andy’s Place in Holly last Saturday. Daniel James Gibson was accused of climbing back over a security fence after organizers removed him from the event, then threatening gunfire while reaching into his backpack, where police say they later found a knife and several containers of alcohol.
Night Took A Dark Turn At A Hometown Celebration
According to MLive, Gibson was attending the outdoor live music event at Andy’s Place on Oct. 10 when he allegedly tried to bring his own alcohol into the gathering. Event organizers removed him, but he allegedly climbed back over the fence surrounding the event afterward. Police say that once back inside, Gibson threatened to “shoot every person in there” or “shoot the place up” while reaching into his backpack, according to the outlet’s report.
Officers recovered a knife and several containers of alcohol from that backpack, per the same account. Gibson was arraigned Tuesday before Oakland County District Court Judge Michael Bosnic on the single terrorism-related count. The charge is punishable by up to 20 years in prison and a $20,000 fine, the station’s report notes.
Prosecutor Warns Against Dismissing The Threat
Oakland County Prosecutor Karen McDonald said there is no such thing as an “idle threat” of mass violence, framing the case as a direct test of community safety during a night meant for celebration. She said residents have a right to feel safe while gathered for music and the reopening of a local business, adding that Gibson’s alleged actions while intoxicated and carrying a weapon could have caused panic and endangered the people attending.
The bar where the alleged threat unfolded has its own recent history of hardship and renewal. Andy’s Place had reopened after a fire struck the building on June 21, 2022, according to ClickOnDetroit. Developers received more than $400,000 through a Revitalization and Placemaking program grant to help reactivate the restaurant, and the outlet reported that the reopening weekend featured live music, drinks and a full house as the longtime spot got its “second act.”
A Statute Already Under Legal Fire
Gibson’s case lands amid broader turbulence over the very law prosecutors used to charge him. A three-judge Michigan Court of Appeals panel has ruled that the state’s terrorist-threat statute is facially unconstitutional, according to WOOD TV8. That Feb. 13 opinion was published, meaning it is binding on lower courts, the station reported, and a Kent County judge has already dismissed a separate defendant’s false-report-or-threat-of-terrorism charge without prejudice as a result, affecting five cases in that county alone.
The Wayne County Prosecutor’s Office has since asked the Michigan Supreme Court to weigh in, calling the appeals court ruling “egregiously mistaken,” per WOOD TV8’s reporting. It remains unclear whether that ruling bears on Gibson’s Oakland County case, and no official court filing detailing his plea or bond status was available.
Under the statute itself, a person commits the offense if they knowingly make a false report of a terrorist act and communicate it to another person while aware the report is false, according to the Michigan Legislature. The law also states that a lack of intent or capability to actually carry out the threatened act is not a defense. The Michigan Attorney General has previously described the offense as punishable by up to 20 years’ incarceration and a $20,000 fine in a separate case.
Part Of A Wider Pattern Of Terrorism Charges Statewide
Gibson’s arraignment follows a string of recent Michigan cases built on the same statute. A 61-year-old Lake Orion man, Anthony Dekinderen, was arraigned on nine counts of false report or threat of terrorism after prosecutors said he emailed a Michigan journalist threatening to kill Gov. Gretchen Whitmer, Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson and members of the Michigan Supreme Court, according to CBS News Detroit. Each of those counts is classified as a 20-year felony, the outlet reported.
In a separate case covered by the same station, a Roseville woman named Alicia Choucair was charged with two counts of false report or threat of terrorism after prosecutors alleged she called a local dispatch center and threatened violence against a mosque and Dearborn Mayor Abdullah Hammoud. Together with Gibson’s case, the pattern underscores how aggressively Michigan prosecutors are pursuing terrorism charges even as the underlying law faces a constitutional challenge working its way toward the state’s highest court.
