Howell Man Pleads Guilty After Threats Made To Jewish Community

HOWELL, NJ – A Howell resident pleaded guilty to bias intimidation earlier this month after authorities claimed he sent threatening messages on social media indicating a desire to assault members of Lakewood’s Jewish community, according to the Ocean County Prosecutor’s Office.

Anthony J. Lodespoto, 43, who prosecutors say sent several online messages threatening to beat members of the Jewish community with a baseball bat, was originally charged with making second-degree terroristic threats amid a state of emergency. He was arrested at his Dutch Valley Road home in March.

Lodespoto sent several threatening notes via Facebook Messenger, including one message sent to the Facebook account of Gov. Phil Murphy.

According to Capt. Gregory Staffordsmith, Lodespoto was accused of making threats over incidents in which some residents have not complied with Murphy's orders banning gatherings of more than 10 people as part of a statewide effort to slow the spread of COVID-19. Lodespoto's messages followed reports in March that Lakewood police had broken up a wedding while responding to a motor vehicle crash.

In a statement earlier this year, Lakewood authorities said that the Howell man “made specific threats to cause harm to members of the Jewish community for not complying with the orders set forth” by the governor.

Related: Howell Man Charged In Threats Over Lakewood Weddings: Authorities

Lodespoto is scheduled to be sentenced on Sept. 25 and is seeking a sentence of 180 days in the Ocean County Jail as a condition of his probation. The Howell resident will reside in the Ocean County Jail pending sentencing.

"I am keenly aware these are extraordinarily stressful times," Ocean County Prosecutor Bradley D. Billhimer said at the time of the incident, "but that does not give anyone license to engage in violent behavior or threaten to commit violent acts. The statements made by this individual were not an exercise in free speech; rather, they exhibited an abhorrence to the values of a free and civilized society."

With reporting by Karen Wall.

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