Jewish American Heritage Month

Posted By admin on April 14, 2023

A Denton man has been sentenced to federal prison for threats he made to a Jewish organization, announced U.S. Attorney Brit Featherston of the Eastern District of Texas.

Anthony Joseph Hammer, 34, pleaded guilty on May 3, 2022, to interstate communication of a threat and was sentenced to two years in prison on Tuesday by U.S. District Judge Richard A. Schell.

According to information presented in court, on July 28, 2021, Hammer sent a threatening electronic message to the Anti-Defamation League, a Jewish civil rights organization based in New York, via the ADL websites contact page.

In his message, Hammer stated the following: Come and find me. Come after me. Come hunt me down. This is me. This is really me. All of my info. I will kill all of you Zionist pigs. 4th reich soon.

Threatening to harm others by using phones, computers or mail is a federal crime and taken very seriously, Featherston said in a news release. Hammer believed he could promote his malicious agenda by making threats to kill and to disrupt business activity. Thats why he is going to jail and being punished. Others who do the same will have the same fate.

An investigation by federal agents revealed that Hammer was already under investigation for threatening calls he made to the office of Tom Wolf, who was then governor of Pennsylvania, according to the release. Hammer made seven calls to Wolfs office. When staff members refused to put him through to the governor, Hammer repeatedly threatened to kill Wolf and his staff members, authorities said. This conduct was taken into consideration in calculating Hammers sentence in the Eastern District of Texas.

The FBI is tasked with upholding the Constitution to include the right to Free Speech as outlined in the First Amendment. In this case, the direct threats made by the defendant fell outside of that protected right, said FBI Dallas Special Agent in Charge Chad Yarborough. The FBI and our law enforcement partners take all threats seriously and will hold accountable anyone who seeks to intimidate and cause fear simply because they disagree with the views of their fellow citizens.

This case was investigated by the FBI and the Pennsylvania Capitol Police and prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Ryan Locker in the Eastern District of Texas in coordination with Assistant U.S. Attorney Carl Marchioli in the Middle District of Pennsylvania.

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Category: Anti-Defamation League
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