Juan Thompson Admits To Making Fake Bomb Threats Against Jewish Organizations

MURRAY HILL, NY — Disgraced ex-journalist Juan Thompson pleaded guilty on Tuesday to cyberstalking his ex-girlfriend and threatening nearly a dozen Jewish organizations, including the headquarters of the Anti-Defamation League in Murray Hill, prosecutors said.

Thompson, 32, was arrested in March after a string of fake bomb threats terrorized Jewish community centers throughout the country. Thompson's threats against at least a dozen Jewish organizations were part of a months-long campaign to harass and stalk his ex-girlfriend, officials said. Investigators say that Thompson's effort to stalk his ex-girlfriend began in 2016, after she ended their relationship. From July 2016 through February 2017, Thompson harassed and stalked the woman. On Tuesday, he admitted to starting the harassment by contacting the woman's employer and making false allegations about her, including that she possessed child pornography. Thompson's threats eventually culminated in phoning and emailing fake bomb threats to Jewish organizations in the woman's name, according to prosecutors.

On Feb. 22, Thompson called in a fake threat to the Murray Hill headquarters of the Anti-Defamation League. He called the offices and said that explosive material had been placed inside.

On some occasions, Thompson made the threats in his own name in an attempt to accuse his ex-girlfriend of trying to frame him. On Feb. 7, authorities said a Jewish Community Center in Manhattan received an anonymous email which stated that Thompson wanted to "create Jewish newtown tomorrow," a reference to the 2012 mass shooting in which a gunman killed 26 people, most of them children.

Joon Kim, acting U.S. attorney for Manhattan, announced Thompson's guilty plea in a statement on Tuesday.

"As he admitted today in pleading guilty, Thompson made these threats as part of a cruel campaign to cyberstalk a victim with whom he previously had a relationship," Kim said in the statement. "Thompson’s threats not only inflicted emotional distress on his victim, but also harmed Jewish communities around the country."

Thompson is scheduled to be sentenced in September. He faces a maximum of 10 years in prison for the cyberstalking and hoax threats charges. Thompson did not face any hate crimes charges in connection with the threats.

Thompson's threats were part of a startling increase in anti-Semitic incidents across the country in 2017. According to ProPublica's "Documenting Hate" project, at least 146 bomb threats were called into 105 Jewish organizations from January through March 23 of 2017.

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Lead image via Drew Angerer / Staff / Getty Images News.