A man from Huntington Beach has been arrested for allegedly making antisemitic threats targeting synagogues in North Carolina and threatening to bomb law enforcement there.
Kevin Dunlow, 62, was arrested on May 24 after he “made numerous threats targeting multiple entities and individuals, including an elected official, members of law enforcement, and several synagogues located in North Carolina,” the U.S. Department of Justice said in a news release.
He faces charges of using any form of communication to send a threat to harm or kidnap another person intentionally and knowingly making false reports about bombs. Each charge carries a sentence of up to five years in federal prison.
“Hate-fueled, violent threats endanger the safety of individuals and entire communities,” Attorney General Merrick Garland said in the release. “This defendant is accused of making explicit and detailed threats, ranging from making a bomb threat against the Wake County Sheriff’s Office, to threatening an elected official, to telling a Rabbi, ‘I am coming to the Temple to kill all the Jews and the children.’ The Justice Department will prosecute anyone who makes illegal threats motivated by antisemitism or bias of any kind.”
Garland was referencing Dunlow’s actions on May 7, when he allegedly said, “Jews didn’t deserve to live. Jews didn’t deserve to be on this earth. I’m going to kill the Jews. I’m coming to the Temple to kill all the Jews and the children.”
He also made a false bomb threat to the Wake County Sheriff’s Office in North Carolina.
“We will not normalize violent threats in America, whether targeting law enforcement, elected officials, or average citizens,” said U.S. Attorney Michael F. Easley Jr. “The complaint alleges the defendant made violent threats against people of faith, cops, and public servants. These cases will always receive our highest attention.”