US man alleged to have made bomb threats to JCCs denied bail

The St. Louis man accused of making at least eight bomb threats against Jewish community centers and the Anti-Defamation League must remain in jail until his trial, a federal judge in that city rules.

The allegations against Juan Thompson, 32, are “very serious,” US District Court Judge David Noce says Monday, the St. Louis Post-Dispatch reports. Noce says that allowing Thompson to post bail and leave jail would “not reasonably assure the court that he will not endanger the safety of any other person or the community.”

Thompson, who was arrested March 3, has been charged with cyberstalking, which carries a maximum sentence of five years in prison. He has no previous criminal record. He made some of the threats in the name of a former romantic partner he had been cyberstalking, according to the US Attorney of Southern New York.

The judge says Monday that allowing Thompson to stay in the home from which he had allegedly made some threats might not stop him from making more and that GPS monitoring might prevent him from fleeing but would not stop threats, according to the Post-Dispatch.

More than 150 threats have been received by JCCs, Jewish schools and other Jewish institutions since the beginning of the year, according to the Secure Community Network, which coordinates security across Jewish organizations in North America.

— JTA