A 22-year-old man has admitted to plotting to kill several people at the headquarters of a Michigan political party and a nearby bar because he associated both places with gays.
Mack Davis pleaded guilty Tuesday in federal court in Flint to committing a hate crime by attempting to carry out a mass murder, the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Michigan said.
A sentencing hearing is scheduled for April 15. Davis faces a prison sentence of years to life in prison. The judge determines the guideline for the sentence.
Davis researched online and posted on social media about mass killings from at least July 2023 to June 2024, according to court documents.
Authorities also found writings about mass murderers in a diary in his home in Owosso, Michigan. Owosso is located about 90 miles northwest of Detroit.
Lists of weapons and tactical equipment were also found, along with two firearms, hundreds of rounds of ammunition, a crossbow and arrows, bomb-making parts, smoke grenades and knives, prosecutors said.
An anti-gay statement was engraved on one of the knives.
Court documents did not specify the party of the political office sought, but Davis said a social media post described it as filled with “far-left-liberal” followed by a homophobic slur.
Two vehicles belonging to Davis’ neighbors were also vandalized, authorities said.
In June, an anti-gay statement was painted on one of the vehicles. About two days later, the same vehicle was shot when Davis tested an illegal short-barreled rifle by firing about 60 rounds from a bedroom window into neighboring properties, documents said.
Davis was arrested by local police for the shooting and later transferred to federal custody.
Dawn Ison, the U.S. attorney for the Eastern District of Michigan, called the plans for mass killings “chilling.”
“He planned to commit mass shootings in two locations – destroying countless lives and destroying our community – all because of his fanatical hatred of gays,” Ison said in a press release.
On Wednesday, Davis’ public defender disputed that account.
“Mr. Davis did not intentionally harm anyone despite having multiple opportunities to do so,” Bryan J. Sherer of the Federal Defender Office in Flint told The Associated Press in an email.
“The information found by police was found in Mr. Davis’ private diary in his bedroom,” Sherer said. “Mr. Davis was only brought to the attention of police after he deliberately shot at several unoccupied vehicles. He has no history of violent behavior toward others prior to being charged with an attempted hate crime in this case.”