Jerome F. Gorgon, Jr., U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Michigan | Department of Justice
An Owosso, Michigan man was sentenced on April 16 to seven years in federal prison after pleading guilty to attempting a hate-motivated mass murder, according to United States Attorney Jerome F. Gorgon, Jr. Mack Davis, 23, admitted guilt under the federal hate crime statute.
The case highlights ongoing concerns about targeted violence and hate crimes in communities. Authorities say Davis was influenced by previous mass murderers and made detailed plans for his own attack.
According to court documents, Davis surveilled churches, synagogues, mosques, schools, hospitals, and supermarkets while planning his attack. He compiled a list of weapons and tactical gear and expressed hatred toward all people in his writings. He posted images of himself making Nazi salutes and holding Adolf Hitler’s antisemitic manifesto "Mein Kampf." Investigators found that he planned attacks on a political party’s county headquarters and a bar he believed would be frequented by homosexuals. In preparation for the attack, Davis fired approximately 60 bullets into neighbors’ cars—one previously vandalized with an anti-gay slur—and amassed an arsenal including an illegally sawed-off rifle, shotgun, crossbow with arrows, bomb-making parts, tactical gear and knives inscribed with hateful messages.
U.S. Attorney Gorgon said: “Davis devised wicked plans. He said he would kill ‘anyone and anything’ that crossed his path and planned to attack homosexuals. And his venom for Jews is part of the sickening rise in antisemitism and attacks against believers. But we will protect every American.”
Jennifer Runyan of the FBI Detroit Field Office said: "There is no room for targeted hate crimes against any citizen on American soil, including in our community of Owosso... Let this sentence serve as a notice that if you target others with hate or violence, you will face the full weight of justice under federal law." She also thanked local police agencies for their collaboration in stopping the plot before anyone was harmed.
The investigation involved multiple agencies including the FBI Detroit Field Office Flint Resident Agency; Owosso Police Department; Bureau of Alcohol Tobacco Firearms (ATF); Michigan State Police; as well as assistance from the Department of Justice's Civil Rights Division.
