A North Carolina man has been arrested by the FBI and charged with sending antisemitic death threats to a Jewish organization — allegedly promising to “take out every one of you” because “we are at war.”
Jeffrey Hobgood, 64, of Troy, was arrested Monday for sending emails to an organization identified in local reports as the Jewish Federation of Greater Charlotte.
“I am going to take out every one of you,” he threatened in a first missive on Wednesday last week, according to the US Attorney’s Office.
He put his name on the email, which also warned that “You can’t stop what is coming,” MyFox8 reported.
Police in Troy made contact with him — but he told them it was “none of their business” and that it would be “dangerous” for them to stay, the outlet said.
Two days later, he allegedly sent a second email to the same Jewish organization, opening, “Dear Lucifer/satan s—birds.”
“Guess what happens to traitors? … Public execution,” he wrote, according to the feds.
“We are at war … If you think you semite [sic] pieces of s–t are going to win, then you are delusional.”
On Monday afternoon, Hobgood was picked up by the feds in Troy and booked into jail on a federal charge of communications threats.
“No one should be threatened with violence or acts of hate because of who they are or how they worship,” said Robert DeWitt, special agent in charge of the FBI in North Carolina.
“Crimes driven by hate have no place in our state.”
It was not the first time that Hobgood had tried to intimidate someone with a strongly worded note. According to court documents cited by the DOJ, in June 2022, the suspect sent threatening emails to members of his own family.
A woman reported to the Carter County Sheriff’s Office in Tennessee that Hobgood had sent an email threatening her and her husband, reported MyFox8. The victim also reported threats from Hobgood to the FBI in September of that year, claiming he had made threats against her and the federal agency.
It was not the first time that Hobgood had tried to intimidate someone with a strongly worded note. According to court documents cited by the DOJ, in June 2022, the suspect sent threatening emails to members of his own family.
If convicted of the federal charge against him, Hobgood could face up to five years in prison, a $250,000 fine, or both.