An Indian American man from Sarasota has pleaded guilty to transmitting an interstate threat to injure by leaving a threatening voicemail at a Jewish organization in New York City.
Deep Alpesh Kumar Patel 21, faces a maximum penalty of five years in federal prison, US Attorney Roger B. Handberg, announced in Tampa, Florida on Dec 15. A sentencing date has not yet been set.
According to the plea agreement, on Oct 21, 2023, in a threatening voicemail to the Jewish organization in New York, Patel identified himself by name and screamed numerous expletives.
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“If I had a chance, I would kill every single one of you Israelis. Every single one of you! Cause mass genocide of every single Israeli,” he said.
Patel also admitted that he had called a synagogue in Temple Terrace, Florida the same day, and had left another expletive-laden voicemail threatening to close it down
Patel agreed to a special finding that he intentionally selected Jewish and/or Israeli individuals as the objects of his threat based on their actual or perceived race, religion, national origin, or ethnicity.
The charge carries a maximum sentence of five years’ imprisonment, a fine of $250,000, a term of supervised release of not more than three years, and a special assessment of $100 per felony count for individuals.
With respect to certain offenses, the Court shall order the defendant to make restitution to any victim of the offense, and concerning other offenses, the Court may order the defendant to make restitution to any victim of the offense, or to the community, as set forth below, according to the plea deal.
The case was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation’s Joint Terrorism Task Force and the Florida Department of Law Enforcement.