Howell man is bound over for trial in an alleged threat against a judge

LANSING — Kyle Fawaz, 31, of Howell, was bound over on Nov. 3 to stand trial in Livingston County on charges that he threatened a judge.

Attorney General Dana Nessel’s Nov. 6 release said the 44th Circuit Court case covers one count of making a terroristic threat, a 20-year felony, one count of using a computer to commit a crime, a 20-year felony, and one count of malicious use of telecommunications services, a six-month misdemeanor. The release says that in August Fawaz allegedly texted his probation officer that he intended to kill a specific judge, that he had chemicals that could be used to make a bomb, and that he described how those parts could be combined. The judge had presided over an earlier case in Wayne County’s 3rd Circuit Court. The release does not print the judge’s name, and this story does not add one.

Nessel’s quote, first issued at the October arraignment and repeated with this announcement, says public servants should not have to fear for their lives for doing the job, and that a threat against an officer of the court is also a threat against the institution. The Hate Crimes and Domestic Terrorism Unit, started in 2019, is prosecuting. The release says a charge is an allegation and that Fawaz is presumed innocent unless he is proved guilty. The department does not provide booking photos. Reports of threats can go to local police first and then to HateCrimes@michigan.gov.

What “bound over” means

Allegation, not a verdict

A bindover means the district court found enough evidence to send the case to circuit court. It is not a conviction. The Oct. 7 release said the arraignment was in 53rd District Court. The Nov. 6 release says the trial court is the 44th Circuit in Livingston County. Those are the two courthouse steps. The charges are a 20-year felony, a second 20-year felony, and a six-month misdemeanor. The release’s own last note is the one that governs the headline: the defendant is presumed innocent. The next date is not in the release, so it is not here. The judge’s name is not in the release, so it is not here either.

Fawaz is 31 and from Howell. The bindover was Tuesday, Nov. 3. The charges are a terroristic threat, a computer crime, and a telecommunications misdemeanor, with the two felonies listed at 20 years and the misdemeanor at six months. The alleged texts went to a probation officer in August and described a plan to kill a judge and a way to combine chemicals. The judge is unnamed. The earlier case was in Wayne County’s 3rd Circuit. He is presumed innocent. No booking photo was released.

The photograph is a courthouse, not the hearing and not the defendant. Howell is the city named as his home. The announcement came from Lansing.

Sources:
Michigan Department of Attorney General, “Howell Man to Stand Trial for Alleged Threats Against Judge,” Nov. 6, 2026, https://www.michigan.gov/ag/news/press-releases/2026/11/06/howell-man-to-stand-trial-for-alleged-threats-against-judge
Michigan Department of Attorney General, arraignment release, Oct. 7, 2026, https://www.michigan.gov/ag/news/press-releases/2026/10/07/howell-man-arraigned-for-allegedly-threatening-judge
Photo: Dwight Burdette, “Livingston County Courthouse Michigan.JPG”, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY 3.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File%3ALivingston_County_Courthouse_Michigan.JPG

Michigan

Tags: Michigan · Attorney General · Livingston County · Howell · Courts