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New York Judge Sentences Neo-Nazi to 5 Years for Livestreaming Bomb Threats Against Jewish Hospitals
Illustrative: People waving Nazi swastika flags argue with conservatives during a protest outside the Tampa Convention Center, where Turning Point USA’s (TPUSA) Student Action Summit (SAS) was being held, in Tampa, Florida, US July 23, 2022. Photo: REUTERS/Marco Bello
A federal judge in New York has sentenced a man from Oregon to five years in person, following a conviction for conspiring to make threats and conveying false information about explosives in relation to a series of threatening calls to Jewish hospitals and care centers.
The US Justice Department announced last week that US District Judge Ramon Reyes, Jr. issued the sentence for Domagoj Patkovic, 31, who terrorized patients and medical workers with hoax bomb threat phone calls to historically Jewish health-care centers in New York City and on Long Island.
“The defendant endangered patients and diverted precious law enforcement resources to advance his hateful agenda against people of the Jewish faith,” said Joseph Nocella, Jr., US Attorney for the Eastern District of New York. “His actions fed a rising tide of antisemitism in America.”
Patkovic’s spree of antisemitic, anonymous phone calls began as early as May 2021 and included accomplices. They made violent threats against Jewish hospitals, including threatening attacks with bombs and warning that he had placed C-4 in the building. Patkovic made at least six calls to hospitals and also one against law enforcement, livestreaming his actions to friends on the Discord messaging platform. One of the threats resulted in a partial evacuation and lockdown of a Long Island hospital.
During the threatening calls, Patkovic said Jews are “gonna go skyrocket up into the sky for Allah.” He also told a 911 operator, “I just called the hospital requesting my f–king million dollars or I’m going to blow this [slur]NEO f—ling b—ch to the sky.”
Patkovic, who lives in Portland, Oregon, confessed to his actions, including performing a “Sieg Heil” salute in a video from an unrelated incident. He pleaded guilty on Feb. 19, having faced as much as 155 years’ imprisonment.
John Durham, then the US Attorney for the Eastern District of New York, said at the time that “as he admitted today, the defendant intentionally targeted Jewish hospitals and care centers in our district with bomb threats. In doing so, he needlessly endangered patients and staff and diverted critical law enforcement resources from their core mission of keeping our community safe.”
Nocella added last week that “our office will continue to prosecute dangerous bomb threats and swatting schemes to the fullest extent of the law, especially those motivated by hate, and those targeting vulnerable communities in hospitals and care centers.”
Christopher Raia, Assistant Director in Charge for the Federal Bureau of Investigation’s New York Field Office, said that Patkovic “will spend significant time in prison for his targeting of Jewish hospitals across the New York metro area with hoax bomb threats.”
He added, “These hoax threats, motivated by Patkovic’s insidious antisemitic views, wasted law enforcement resources and put innocent lives at risk. The FBI will continue to bring to justice individuals who utilize swatting and false bomb threats to cause panic and unrest in our communities.”
Antisemites have used similar “swatting” style attacks claiming the planting of bombs at Jewish buildings.
Over the weekend of December 16-18, 2023, for example, the Anti-Defamation League (ADL) documented more than 400 hoax bomb threat attacks — a record — against Jewish organizations, including 93 in California, 62 in Arizona, 15 in Connecticut, five in Colorado, and four in Washington state. Investigators believed that overseas actors coordinated the crime.
“At this time, based on similar language and specific email tradecraft used, it appears the perpetrators of these threats are connected. Additionally, these threats appear to be originating from outside of the United States,” Assistant FBI Director Cathy Milhoan said. “To date, none of these email threats have involved any actual explosive devices or credible risk of harm to congregants.”
David Procopio, Massachusetts’ state police communications director, described approximately 30 threats against synagogues in his state. “We did not respond to all of them, but our Bomb Squad did respond to several and conducted sweeps of the facilities,” he said at the time. “Many were handled on the local level by local police and firefighters. All are believed to have been hoaxes; no explosives or hazards were located at any site.”
The ADL noted earlier incidents of fake bomb threats driven by online antisemites in August 2023.
“For the fourth weekend in a row, ADL has worked with law enforcement and community partners to mitigate the disruption to Jewish prayer services posed by a group of online trolls who swat and call in fake bomb threats targeting synagogues,” ADL CEO Jonathan Greenblatt said at the time. “The trolls use highly antisemitic language in these calls and appear to have targeted at least 26 synagogues and two ADL offices in 12 states over this time period. They appear to be targeting synagogues that livestream their services.”
The post New York Judge Sentences Neo-Nazi to 5 Years for Livestreaming Bomb Threats Against Jewish Hospitals first appeared on Algemeiner.com.
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Israel Pounds Gaza City Suburbs, Vows to Press on with Offensive
Smoke rises following an Israeli strike, in Gaza City, August 24, 2025. Photo: REUTERS/Dawoud Abu Alkas
Israeli planes and tanks pounded the eastern and northern outskirts of Gaza City overnight Saturday to Sunday, destroying buildings and homes, residents said, as Israeli leaders vowed to press on with a planned offensive on the city.
Witnesses reported the sound of explosions non-stop overnight in the areas of Zeitoun and Shejaia, while tanks shelled houses and roads in the nearby Sabra neighborhood and several buildings were blown up in the northern town of Jabalia.
Fire lit the skies from the direction of the explosions, causing panic, prompting some families to stream out of the city. Others said they would prefer to die and not leave.
The Israeli military said on Sunday that its forces have returned to combat in the Jabalia area in recent days, to dismantle militant tunnels and strengthen control of the area.
It added that the operation there “enables the expansion of combat into additional areas and prevents Hamas terrorists from returning to operate in these areas.”
Israel approved a plan this month to seize control of Gaza City, describing it as the last bastion of Hamas. It is not expected to begin for a few weeks, leaving room for mediators Egypt and Qatar to try and resume ceasefire talks.
Israel’s Defense Minister Israel Katz on Sunday vowed to press on with the offensive on the city where famine has been declared, which has raised alarm abroad and objections at home. Katz has said that Gaza City will be razed unless Hamas agrees to end the war on Israel’s terms and release all hostages.
Hamas said in a statement on Sunday that Israel’s plan to take over Gaza City showed it wasn’t serious about a ceasefire.
It said a ceasefire agreement was “the only way to return the hostages,” holding Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu responsible for their lives.
The proposal on the table calls for a 60-day ceasefire and the release of 10 living hostages held in Gaza and of 18 bodies. In turn, Israel would release about 200 long-serving Palestinian prisoners held by Israel.
Once a temporary ceasefire begins, the proposal is for Hamas and Israel to begin negotiations on a permanent ceasefire that would include the return of the remaining hostages.
On Thursday, Netanyahu said that Israel would immediately resume negotiations for the release of all 50 hostages – of whom Israel believes around 20 are still living – and an end to the nearly two-year-old war but on terms acceptable to Israel.
‘HUNGRY AND AFRAID’
Around half of the enclave’s two million people currently live in Gaza City. A few thousand have already left, carrying their belongings on vehicles and rickshaws.
“I stopped counting the times I had to take my wife and three daughters and leave my home in Gaza City,” said Mohammad, 40, via a chat app. “No place is safe, but I can’t take the risk. If they suddenly begin the invasion, they will use heavy fire.”
Others said they will not leave, no matter what.
“We are not leaving, let them bomb us at home,” said Aya, 31, who has a family of eight, adding that they couldn’t afford to buy a tent or pay for the transportation, even if they did try to leave. “We are hungry, afraid and don’t have money.”
A global hunger monitor said on Friday that Gaza City and surrounding areas are officially suffering from famine that will likely spread. Israel has rejected the assessment and says it ignores steps it has taken since late July to increase aid.
The war began on October 7, 2023, when Hamas-led gunmen burst into southern Israel, killing some 1,200 people, mainly civilians, and taking 251 hostages.
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Iran Signals Willingness to Scale Back Uranium Enrichment to Ease Tensions
Atomic symbol and USA and Iranian flags are seen in this illustration taken, September 8, 2022. Photo: REUTERS/Dado Ruvic/Illustration/File Photo
i24 News – Iran may be prepared to significantly reduce its uranium enrichment levels in a bid to stave off renewed UN sanctions and limit the risk of further strikes by Israel and the United States, according to a report published Sunday in The Telegraph.
Citing Iranian sources, the paper said Tehran is considering lowering enrichment from 60% to 20%.
The move is reportedly being championed by Ali Larijani, the newly appointed secretary of the Supreme National Security Council, who is holding talks with regime leaders.
“Larijani is trying to convince the system to reduce the level of enrichment in order to avoid further war,” a senior Iranian official told the paper.
The proposal, however, faces stiff resistance from the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, which has long opposed concessions on the nuclear program. Still, the report suggests Iran’s leadership may be open to greater flexibility, including the possibility of reviving engagement with Western powers.
Last month, i24NEWS reported exclusively that a delegation from the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) is expected to travel to Iran. The team of technical experts would seek to resume monitoring of nuclear sites, inspections that have been heavily restricted in recent years.
The development comes amid mounting regional tensions and could represent a critical turning point in the long-running nuclear standoff.
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Major Brush Fire Erupts Near Jerusalem, Evacuations Underway
A view of the new Tel Aviv-Jerusalem fast train seen over the HaArazim Valley (“Valley of Cedars”) just outside of Jerusalem, Sept. 25, 2018. Photo: Yossi Zamir/Flash90.
i24 News – A large brush fire broke out Sunday in the Cedars Valley area, near Route 1 and the Motza interchange, prompting an emergency response from Jerusalem district fire services. Several water-bombing planes were dispatched, and authorities have declared a “fire emergency.”
As a precaution, residents of Mevaseret Zion are being evacuated. Access to the town from Route 1 has already been blocked, and officials are weighing a full closure of the major highway.
Fire crews from the Ha’uma station are on site working to contain the flames, while motorists in the area are urged to heed traffic updates and follow instructions from emergency services.
Eight firefighting aircraft are currently operating above the blaze in support of ground teams. The fire comes amid one of the hottest, driest summers on record, with conditions fueling a series of destructive wildfires across the country.
Officials warn the situation remains critical, as the blaze threatens a vital transportation corridor leading into Jerusalem.