A Texas man raised in an Orthodox Jewish home in the Boston region has been accused with threatening Zohran Mamdani, the Democratic candidate for New York City mayor.
Jeremy Fistel, 44, was arraigned Thursday in Queens on a 22-count indictment that included terroristic threats and aggravated harassment.
Prosecutors said he bombarded Mamdani with hostile phone calls and internet messages over a seven-week period beginning in June, calling him a “terrorist,” telling him he did not belong in America, and urging him not to start his car, implying that it would explode.
The calls, which Mamdani’s campaign publicized at the time, also instructed Mamdani to “check your beeper,” an apparent reference to Israel’s devastating detonation of thousands of beepers belonging to Hezbollah militants in Lebanon last year.
Mamdani, a pro-Palestinian state assemblyman from Queens who, if elected, would become the city’s first Muslim mayor, has gotten a protection order from Fistel.
“We cannot and will not be intimidated by racism, Islamophobia, and hate,” his campaign stated in a statement. “Zohran remains steadfast in his conviction that New York must be a city where every single person — regardless of faith, background, or identity — is safe, protected, and at home.”
According to Queens District Attorney Melinda Katz, “We take threats of violence against any office holder extremely seriously—and there is no room for hate or bigotry in our political discourse.”
Fistel, who has pleaded not guilty, faces up to 15 years in prison if convicted on the most serious allegations. He was extradited from Plano, Texas, following his arrest earlier this month.
According to the New York Times, Fistel’s lawyer informed the judge that he had no intention of causing harm and had no idea his calls could be considered unlawful.
“I’ve never been in a fight with anybody,” Fistel told Texas police, according to prosecutors. “I am not the person, man. I am just a typical man. I understand I didn’t sound like a nice guy on the phone.”
According to court records, Fistel has had previous run-ins with the authorities. In 2012, he pleaded guilty to conspiracy to distribute marijuana, a case that lasted years and featured several character references to his personal and religious past.
Raised in Sharon, Massachusetts, he attended Orthodox Jewish private schools and was heavily involved in synagogue life. After his father died unexpectedly, he often accompanied his younger brother Joshua, who has developmental problems, to services at Young Israel of Sharon “in honor of our father,” according to a letter given in his defense.
Friends from his time at the University of Maryland also mentioned his Jewish participation. A rabbi who knew him through Hillel informed the sentencing judge that Fistel had attended services, investigated his Jewish identity, and delivered food parcels to the destitute each Purim.
Other letters praised him as a calming influence in his family and community, as well as a significant donor to Jewish and secular institutions such as the Hillel Foundation.
Prosecutors now claim that Fistel eventually turned to threatening an elected official whose background and politics he disliked. Mamdani is an outspoken critic of Israel.
At least one of Fistel’s purported communications to Mamdani clearly referenced Israel, saying, “I’d love to see an IDF bullet go through your skull,” according to the Times.
The case is the latest occurrence of political violence, which looks to be on the rise: Conservative activist Charlie Kirk was shot to death in Utah this week, while Minnesota Democratic legislator Melissa Hortman and her husband were assassinated at their home in June.
In an interview with the Times, Mamdani, who has built his campaign on grassroots accessibility, said he would not change his approach to close public involvement.
