In Amarillo, a man threatened to “execute” several prominent rabbis in New York City, according to the U.S. Department of Justice in North Texas.
On Wednesday, before U.S. Magistrate District Judge Lee Ann Reno in Amarillo, Christopher Stephen Brown pleaded guilty to threatening to murder three rabbis late last year, the DOJ said in a press release on Thursday.
Now, he could face up to five years in a federal prison and a fine of up to $250,000.
Federal authorities charged and indicted Brown in December, after he made a series of threatening phone calls to the New York-based Chabad Lubavitch, a Jewish organization that provides spiritual guidance and assistance to Jewish people.
Identifying himself as “Madrikh Obadiah” in those phone calls, Brown singled out three rabbis and vowed to “tear their eyes and tongues out, blow their heads off, and kill every rabbi he could find,” the DOJ said in its release.
In voicemails, YouTube videos and messages he sent Chabad Lubavitch through its website, Brown promised he’d kill “every Jew he could find,” according to court documents. In one message, he stated, “Death to all Jews.”
In the DOJ’s release, Matthew DeSarno, special agent in charge of the FBI in Dallas, said Brown’s statements “indicated that he wanted to potentially commit violent acts against members of the Jewish faith.”
“This action is a criminal violation and also instills fear in a community that has long been a target of hateful rhetoric and violence,” DeSarno added.
