Arrest in JCC Threats: Man Accused in Ex-Girlfriend Cyberstalking Plot

A Missouri man is accused of communicating threats to eight Jewish Community Centers in the name of an ex-girlfriend as a way of cyberstalking.

Federal authorities have arrested a disgraced former journalist who they say is responsible for at least eight threats against Jewish organizations.

Juan Thompson, a former reporter for the Intercept who was fired for fabricating sources there, was arrested in St. Louis on Friday morning and charged with cyberstalking and communicating threats, according to a press release from the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Southern District of New York.

The bomb threats weren't the only thing he did to harass the woman, prosecutors allege. He also made accusations against her to her boss and reported that she possessed child porn.

In addition to sending emails, he also is accused of using Twitter to claim the woman was making the JCC threats and trying to frame him, along with the "racist FBI."

Waves of threats against JCCs nationwide since the beginning of 2017 have also included bomb hoaxes directed at the JCCs in New Rochelle and Tarrytown.

Preet Bharara, the United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York, William F. Sweeney Jr., the Assistant Director-in-Charge of the New York Field Division of the Federal Bureau of Investigation and James P. O’Neill, the Commissioner of the New York City Police Department, announced the unsealing of a complaint charging Thompson with cyberstalking a particular woman, by, among other things, communicating threats to Jewish Community Centers in her name. He was arrested in St. Louis, Missouri, Friday morning.

“Everyone deserves to be free from fear and discrimination based on religion, race, or ethnicity; that is fundamental to who we are as a nation," Bharara said in the announcement. "Together with the FBI and the NYPD, we have been investigating the recent threats made on Jewish Community Centers in New York and around the country. Today, we have charged Juan Thompson with allegedly stalking a former romantic interest by, among other things, making bomb threats in her name to Jewish Community Centers and to the Anti-Defamation League. Threats of violence targeting people and places based on religion or race – whatever the motivation – are unacceptable, un-American, and criminal. We are committed to pursuing and prosecuting those who foment fear and hate through such criminal threats.”

Thompson was behind threats made to the Anti-Defamation League's Manhattan headquarters, the release said. Those threats, though, were made under a woman's name "as part of a sustained campaign to harass and intimidate" her shortly after they ended a romantic relationship, the release said.

The woman was not named by the U.S. Attorney's Office.

SEE: Disgraced Former Journalist Arrested for Threats Against Jewish Groups

According to the allegations in the Complaint unsealed today in Manhattan federal court:

In recent months, the FBI and this Office have been investigating a series of threats across the country principally targeting JCCs, schools, and other organizations that provide service to and on behalf of the Jewish community (the “JCC Threats”). Based on the investigation, THOMPSON appears to have made at least eight of the JCC Threats as part of a sustained campaign to harass and intimidate Victim-1. THOMPSON’s harassment of Victim-1 appears to have begun shortly after their romantic relationship ended and to have included, among other things, defamatory emails and faxes to Victim-1’s employer, false reports of criminal activity by Victim-1, and JCC Threats in Victim-1’s name.

In July 2016, an email was sent to Victim-1’s employer that made false allegations about Victim-1, including that she had broken the law, using an internet protocol (“IP”) address that THOMPSON had previously used to access his social media account. On October 15, 2016, an IP address that traced back to THOMPSON’s residence was used to report falsely that Victim-1 possessed child pornography. When confronted by law enforcement on November 22, 2016, THOMPSON claimed that his email account had been hacked a few weeks earlier.

In January and February 2017, THOMPSON appears to have made at least eight JCC Threats as part of his campaign of harassment against Victim-1. For instance, on or about February 21, 2017, the Anti-Defamation League (“ADL”) received an emailed threat at their midtown Manhattan office, which indicated that “[Victim-1’s name and birthdate] is behind the bomb threats against jews. She lives in nyc and is making more bomb threats tomorrow.” The next day, the ADL received a phone call claiming that explosive material had been placed in the ADL’s midtown Manhattan office.

Some of THOMPSON’s JCC Threats appear to have been made in his own name, as part of an effort to claim that Victim-1 was trying to frame THOMPSON for a crime. For instance, on or about February 7, 2017, a JCC in Manhattan received an emailed bomb threat from an anonymous email account, which stated: “Juan Thompson [THOMPSON’s birthday] put two bombs in the office of the Jewish center today. He wants to create Jewish newtown tomorrow.” The email’s use of the phrase “Jewish newtown” appeared to refer to a December 2012 school shooting in Newtown, Connecticut, in which a gunman murdered 26 victims, including 20 children.

In February 2017, a Twitter account that appears to be used by THOMPSON (the “Thompson Twitter Account”) was used to accuse Victim-1 of responsibility for the JCC Threats and claim that Victim-1 was trying to frame THOMPSON for her crimes. For instance, on February 24, 2017, the Thompson Twitter Account posted: “[s]he [Victim-1], though I can’t prove it, even sent a bomb threat in my name to a Jewish center, which was odd given her antisemitic statements. I got a visit from the FBI. So now I’m battling the racist FBI and this vile, evil, racist white woman.” On February 26, 2017, the Thompson Twitter Account posted “The hatred of Jews goes across all demos. Ask NYC’s [Victim-1’s employer]. They employ a filthy anti-Semite in [Victim-1]. These ppl are evil.”

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THOMPSON, 31, of Saint Louis, Missouri, is charged with one count of cyberstalking, which carries a maximum sentence of five years in prison. The maximum potential sentence in this case is prescribed by Congress and is provided here for informational purposes only, as any sentencing of the defendant will be determined by the judge.

Mr. Bharara praised the outstanding investigative work of the FBI and the New York City Police Department, as well as the United States Secret Service, the St. Louis Police Department, the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Missouri, and the Computer Crime and Intellectual Property Section of the United States Department of Justice for their ongoing investigative assistance. This investigation, as well as investigations into the other threats made to the Jewish community organizations in New York City are ongoing.

The prosecution is being handled by the Office’s Terrorism & International Narcotics Unit and the General Crimes Unit. Assistant U.S. Attorney Jacob Warren is in charge of the prosecution

SEE ALSO: UPDATE: Two JCCs In Hudson Valley Receive Bomb Threats Monday

Image:Patrick Lentz via Flickr

By Marc Torrence and Lanning Taliaferro