“NEW YORK (CBSNewYork/AP) — A jilted ex-boyfriend is behind at least eight of the scores of threats made against Jewish Community Centers nationwide, plus a bomb threat to the Anti-Defamation League, in an effort to harass and vilify his former girlfriend, federal officials said Friday.
Juan Thompson, 31, a one-time New Yorker now living back in his hometown of St. Louis, will appear in federal court in Missouri on Friday afternoon on a charge of cyberstalking, which carries a maximum sentence of five years in prison, authorities said. He is expected to eventually be transferred to New York for prosecution. …
The harassment got worse from there when he started making threats against Jewish institutions in her name to portray her as an anti-Semite, federal officials said.
The Anti-Defamation League received an email on Feb. 21 that said the woman was behind the bomb threats to JCCs and there’d be more the next day. On Feb. 22, the ADL headquarters in Midtown Manhattan received a phoned-in bomb threat. …
“Thompson’s alleged pattern of harassment not only involved the defamation of his female victim, but his threats intimidated an entire community,” FBI Assistant Director-in-Charge William F. Sweeney Jr. …
“The defendant allegedly caused havoc, expending hundreds of hours of police and law enforcement resources to respond and investigate these threats,” said NYPD Commissioner James P. O’Neill. “We will continue to pursue those who peddle fear,…