A 22-year-old man has admitted to a plot intended to kill multiple people at a political party headquarters in Michigan and at a nearby bar because he associated both places with gay people. Mack Davis pleaded guilty Tuesday in federal court in Flint to committing a hate crime by attempting to carry out a mass killing, according to the U.S. Attorney's office in Michigan.
A sentencing hearing is scheduled for April 15, where Davis faces any term of years in prison up to life. The judge will determine the guideline range at sentencing. Davis conducted online research and posted on social media about mass killings from at least July 2023 through June 2024, as per court documents.
Authorities found writings about mass killers in a journal in his Owosso, Michigan, home. Lists of weapons and tactical gear, along with two firearms, hundreds of rounds of ammunition, a crossbow and arrows, bomb-making parts, smoke grenades, and knives were also discovered, prosecutors said. An anti-gay slur was inscribed on one of the knives.
Court documents did not specify the political party of the office targeted, but Davis described it in a social media post as being filled with “far left liberal” followed by a homophobic slur. Two vehicles belonging to Davis' neighbors were vandalized, with an anti-gay slur painted on one of the vehicles in June.
About two days later, the same vehicle was shot as Davis test-fired an illegal, short-barreled rifle by firing about 60 rounds from a bedroom window into neighboring properties, documents revealed. Davis was arrested by local police for the shooting and later transferred to federal custody.
U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Michigan, Dawn Ison, described the mass killing plans as “chilling,” stating, “He intended to commit mass shootings at two locations — destroying countless lives and devastating our community — all because of his fanatical hatred for gay people.”
Davis' public defender disputed the account, mentioning that Davis did not intentionally harm anyone despite having multiple opportunities to do so. The defender clarified that the information found by the police was in Davis’ private journal inside his bedroom and that Davis was brought to the attention of the police only after purposefully shooting into multiple unoccupied vehicles. The defender also noted that Davis does not have a history of violent behavior toward others prior to being charged in this case with an attempted hate crime.
