A Mississippi man admitted in federal court on Tuesday to targeting synagogues and Jewish businesses with threatening messages in which he invoked Adolf Hitler and the Holocaust, federal prosecutors announced.
Donavon Parish, 29, of Hattiesburg, pleaded guilty before Judge Cynthia M. Rufe of the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania to “one count of cyberstalking and five counts of abuse and harassment using a telecommunications device,” U.S. Attorney Jacqueline Romero announced, according to a statement from the Justice Department.
“Parish also admitted to a special finding that he targeted his victims based on their actual and perceived religion,” the statement added.
Prosecutors reportedly alleged in court that Parish sent messages such as “Heil Hitler,” “all Jews must die,” “we will put you in work camps,” “gas the Jews” and “Hitler should have finished the job” to synagogues and Jewish-owned businesses in the Eastern District of Pennsylvania in April and May 2022 via a Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) service.
Parish will be sentenced on Sept. 24., the DOJ statement notes.
He faces a maximum 15-year prison sentence followed by a three-year supervised release, as well as a $1,500,000 fine and a $600 special assessment, according to the statement. (RELATED: Video Appears To Show Man Attempt To Mow Down Jewish Students In Antisemitic Attack)
Mississippi Man Pleads Guilty to Cyberstalking and Making Antisemitic Threats Targeting Synagogues and Jewish-Owned Businesses
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— U.S. Department of Justice (@TheJusticeDept) June 18, 2024
“Cyberstalking is already a serious violation and targeting victims based on their religion is a hate crime, which makes it that much more abhorrent,” Romero said, according to the statement. “We and our partners will continue to work to hold accountable anyone who criminally misuses today’s technology to spread hate and fear.”
The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) investigated the case.
“Antisemitism has no place in our society,” said Wayne A. Jacobs, special agent in charge of FBI’s Philadelphia field office, according to the statement. “Today’s guilty plea reinforces that we will pursue justice against those who threaten members of our communities with such vile threats. The FBI will continue to work closely with our partners at the U.S. Attorney’s Office to ensure our citizens feel safe in the environments they live, work and play in.”
Antisemitic incidents on record across the U.S. in 2022 stood at 3,698 — more than quadruple the 912 known incidents in 2014, according to an audit by the Anti-Defamation League (ADL). The eight-year record set in 2022 was then shattered in 2023 when the ADL recorded 8,873 such incidents. Some 5,204 of the incidents in 2023 occurred in the wake of Hamas’s Oct. 7, 2023 terror attack on Israel, the ADL reported.
