A man from Plano is charged with making terroristic threats against Zohran Mamdani, the controversial New York State Assemblyman running for Mayor of New York city.
According to the District Attorney's office in Queens, New York, a grand jury has indicted 44-year-old Jeremy Fistel. He's also arraigned on charges for leaving both voicemails and written messages in June and July - considered a hate crime.
In all it's a 22-count indictment and he could face up to 15 years in prison. He was arrested in Plano, Texas a week ago and brought to Queens yesterday.
"As alleged, the defendant threatened an elected official by leaving a series of increasingly alarming anti-Muslim messages with the office of Assemblyman Zohran Mamdani. The defendant told the assemblyman to go back to Uganda before someone shoots him in the head, to keep an eye on his house and family, to watch his back every second until he leaves America, and that he and his relatives deserve to die. Let me be very clear - we take threats of violence against any office holder extremely seriously - and there is no room for hate or bigotry in our political discourse. The defendant has now been extradited to Queens to face the serious charges against him. I thank our law enforcement partners at the NYPD, FBI and US Marshals Service for their work on this case," Queens District Attorney Melinda Katz said.
Fistel's next court date is scheduled for November 19th.
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