Ex-Journalist Gets 5 Years In Prison For Anti-Jewish Threats

ST. LOUIS, MO — Juan Thompson, a former journalist from St. Louis who admitted to cyber stalking an ex-girlfriend and terrorizing Jewish groups with bomb threats, has been sentenced in federal court in New York to five years in prison. Thompson was a reporter for The Intercept, an online news publication founded by Glenn Greenwald, the journalist who first published leaked information from former-NSA contractor Edward Snowden. Thompson was fired for fabricating sources even before he was arrested on harassment charges.

Judge P. Kevin Castel calls Thompson’s crimes domestic terrorism. He sentenced Thompson to a year longer than the federal sentencing guidelines recommended, citing the eloquence of a victim statement delivered by Thompson’s ex-girlfriend, Francesca Rossi. Rossi says Thompson began abusing her during their relationship and intensified the terror delivered largely through social media and electronic communications after they broke up. According to the U.S. Attorney's office, Thompson made many of his anti-Semitic threats under Rossi's name as part of his harassment campaign.

Thompson pleaded guilty in June to cyber stalking and making fake bomb threats to a dozen Jewish community centers and day schools.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

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