Edward Owens Jr, 30, of Elizabeth, Pennsylvania, was sentenced to 30 months in prison and three subsequent years of supervised release for threatening a Jewish public official and lying to government agents, the US Justice Department said on Tuesday.
Owens, who pleaded guilty in January to threatening the unnamed official, had faced a maximum sentence of five years in prison and $250,000 in fines.
He used a social media app to tell the official that he should "go back to Israel or better yet, exterminate yourself and save us the trouble," he admitted.
The message also said that “we will not stop until your kind is nonexistent” and used the phrase “109 countries”. The Justice Department said the latter is a trope commonly used by antisemites to claim that Jews have been expelled from 109 countries, and call for their continued expulsion.
The judge said before sentencing that the Owens “created real fear and trepidation” and “caused the victim to have to change their way of living”.
"Today's sentencing sends two strong and unequivocal messages," stated Troy Rivetti, US attorney for the Western District of Pennsylvania.
“First, it reaffirms that our community remains stronger than hate. Time and again, the people of this district have demonstrated an unwavering commitment to unity, resilience, safety, and dignity for all.
"Second, it again shows that our office and our law enforcement partners at every level will continue to work side by side to ensure that individuals who commit crimes driven by hate – who harm, threaten or attempt to intimidate others because of who they are – will be held accountable to the fullest extent of federal law.”
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