Disgraced Former Journalist Arrested For Threats Against Jewish Groups

NEW YORK, NY — Federal authorities have arrested a disgraced former journalist who they say is responsible for at least eight threats against Jewish organizations, which he made to harass and intimidate an ex-girlfriend.

Juan Thompson, a former reporter for the Intercept who was fired for fabricating sources there, was arrested in St. Louis on Friday morning and charged with cyberstalking and communicating threats, according to a press release from the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Southern District of New York.

An investigation is ongoing into widespread robocall threats made to Jewish Community Centers across the country.

Thompson was behind threats made to the Anti-Defamation League's Manhattan headquarters, the release said. Those threats, though, were made under a woman's name "as part of a sustained campaign to harass and intimidate" her shortly after they ended a romantic relationship, the release said.

The woman was not named by the U.S. Attorney's Office.

In one instance, according to a complaint filed in Manhattan federal court, the ADL's Manhattan office got an email that said the woman "is behind the bomb threats against jews. She lives in nyc and is making more bomb threats tomorrow.” The next day, the office got an email saying explosive material was in the ADL's building, according to the complaint.

Some of the threats were made in his name, and he tried to pin them on the woman and say she was framing him, the complaint said.

A Feb. 21 threat sent to a Manhattan JCC, according to the complaint, said Thompson "put two bombs in the office of the Jewish center today. He wants to create Jewish newtown tomorrow," referring to the 2010 slaughter of 20 children in a Connecticut elementary school.

Later, a Twitter account that authorities believe belongs to Thompson alleged that the woman "even sent a bomb threat in my name to a Jewish center, which was odd given her antisemitic statements."

Patch is not linking to the referenced tweet because it includes the woman's name.

"Threats of violence targeting people and places based on religion or race – whatever the motivation – are unacceptable, un-American, and criminal," U.S. Attorney Preet Bharara said in the release. "We are committed to pursuing and prosecuting those who foment fear and hate through such criminal threats."

Thompson also once worked for The Intercept, a left-leaning news website that published documents released by Edward Snowden about the NSA's surveillance techniques.

Thompson was fired in January 2016 after editors at the publication found he had made up sources and quotes.

"We were horrified this morning to learn that Juan Thompson, a former employee of the Intercept, has been arrested in connection with bomb threats against the ADL and multiple Jewish Community Centers in addition to cyberstalking," a statement from Intercept editor Betsy Reed said. "These actions are heinous and should be fully investigated and prosecuted."

Thompson also interned at WBEZ-FM, Chicago's public radio station, in the summer of 2014, the Chicago Tribune reports. Before that, he was an intern for two monthis in 2013 for online news outlet DNAinfo's Chicago site, the report added.

His harassment of his victim was not limited to the Jewish center threats, the complaint said.

In July 2016, the victim's employer got an email saying she had broken the law, the complaint said, and the email was traced back to an IP address used by one of Thompson's social media accounts. In October 2016, an IP address traced back to Thompson's residence was used to falsely accuse his victim of possessing child pornography, the complaint said.

Thompson's arrest followed an investigation that involved the FBI and the NYPD.

“Thompson’s alleged pattern of harassment not only involved the defamation of his female victim, but his threats intimidated an entire community," FBI Assistant Director-in-Charge William F. Sweeney Jr. said in the release.

Officials with the Anti-Defamation League spoke about Thompson's arrest at a press conference on Friday.

"While the motive is unclear, the impact is crystal clear," said Oren Segal, the director of ADL's Center on Extremism. "While I cannot speak about what is in Thompson's mind or in his heart, threatening Jewish institutions is an anti-Semitic act."

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