Texas man charged over "terroristic" threats against Mamdani
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New York City mayoral candidate Zohran Mamdani in St. James Park, NYC, earlier this month. Photo: Michael M. Santiago/Getty Images
A Texas man is facing charges of making "terroristic threats" against Zohran Mamdani, after the Democratic candidate for mayor of New York City was sent a series of racist and anti-Muslim messages, prosecutors announced Thursday.
The big picture: Jeremy Fistel, 44, of Plano, Texas, reportedly pleaded not guilty at his arraignment Thursday in Queens County Criminal Court following a grand jury's 22-count indictment earlier this month.
State of play: Fistel faces four counts of making a terroristic threat as a hate crime, four of making a terroristic threat and other charges related to aggravated harassment, per the indictment.
- He's accused of making threats via voicemail and written messages from June through July.
- Fistel was arrested in Texas on Sept. 11 and extradited to Queens six days later, per a statement from NYC borough's District Attorney Melinda Katz's office.
Zoom in: Prosecutors allege that among the messages Fistel left was one saying that the Uganda-born assemblyman "should go back to f*cking Uganda before someone shoots you in the f*cking head and gets rid of your whole f*cking family, too. You piece of sh*t Muslims don't belong here."
- Another allegedly said: "Mamdani was not welcome in New York, or in America" and to "Go on and start your car. See what happens… yeah, keep an eye on your house and your family. Watch your f*cking back every f*cking second til you get the f*ck out of America. ... And check your beeper, too, terrorist f*ck. Beep beep."
- Prosecutors also accuse Fistel of leaving a written message through Mamdani's website, saying: "I hope you get terminal cancer and die a painful death very soon. I'd love to see an IDF bullet go through your skull. Would be even better if you had to watch your wife and kids murdered in front you before they end your pathetic miserable life… I hope you all die painful sudden deaths. Do us all a favor and kill yourself."
- One voicemail allegedly said: "F*cking terrorist piece of sh*t. All you and your Muslim f*ck loser friends and relatives and family and wife and kids deserve to die. You deserve to be six feet under the f*cking ground. I hope somebody does it quickly, somebody shoots you in the f*cking face … I hope you get raped and murdered as well."
What they're saying: "As alleged, the defendant threatened an elected official by leaving a series of increasingly alarming anti-Muslim messages with the office of Assemblyman Zohran Mamdani," Katz said.
- "Let me be very clear — we take threats of violence against any office holder extremely seriously — and there is no room for hate or bigotry in our political discourse."
Mamdani's campaign team expressed gratitude Thursday to Katz's office for "treating this matter with the seriousness it deserves."
- The emailed statement added, "Unfortunately, threats of this nature are all too common — and they reflect a broader climate of hate that has no place in our city."
Go deeper: Threats against members of Congress spiked in 2024
Editor's note: This article has been updated with comment from the Mamdani campaign team.
