Ex-journalist pleads guilty in JCC bomb threats case

13 June 2017, 8:21 pm

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A former journalist from St. Louis accused of threatening Jewish organizations as a way to harass his ex-girlfriend has pleaded guilty to cyberstalking.

Juan Thompson also pleaded guilty to a charge of conveying false information and hoaxes. He apologized during his court appearance Tuesday in New York.

Federal prosecutors said Thompson sometimes used his girlfriend’s name while making threats against Jewish community centers, schools or other facilities.

Juan Thompson, 31, from St. Louis, suspected of making at least 8 hoax bomb threats against Jewish institutions in recent weeks. (Bric TV)

They said one message claimed he had placed two bombs in a Jewish school and was “eager for Jewish Newtown,” a reference to the 2012 school massacre in Connecticut.

The government collected evidence from about two dozen laptops, tablets and cellphones seized from his home.

Thompson was fired from the online publication The Intercept last year.

— AP