US teen indicted for bomb threats, hate crimes

NEW YORK: A 19-year-old man has been indicted for hate crimes connected to threats against Jewish community centres, as well as threatening the Israeli embassy and cyberstalking, the US Justice Department said on Wednesday.
Michael Kadar was arrested in Israel last year and is awaiting trial there. US and Israeli authorities have previously charged him with making thousands of threats, including to airports, schools and Jewish centres, in the United States in 2016 and early 2017.
Kadar, who holds dual US-Israeli citizenship, was indicted by grand juries in Florida, Georgia and the District of Columbia for making threats from January to March 2017, the Justice Department said in a statement.
The statement did not say whether he would be extradited to the United States.
Kadar is alleged to have telephoned the Anti-Defamation League with a bomb threat and making a bomb threat in an email to the Israeli embassy in Washington, both in March 2017, the Justice Department said.
Kadar, who is Jewish, was indicted for allegedly calling police in January 2017 about a hoax hostage situation at a home in Athens, Georgia, which included a threat to kill responding officers. Kadar also faces a federal cyberstalking indictment in Georgia.
In Florida, Kadar was charged with making multiple threatening calls about bomb threats and gun attacks against Jewish community centres throughout the state in January and February 2017. He also is alleged to have made bomb threats against the Orlando International Airport and a school.
The hoax threats to the Jewish community centres forced widespread evacuations and raised fears of a resurgence in anti-Semitism.
US authorities have said in court documents that Kadar advertised his services on AlphaBay, a now-closed online black market, and offered to threaten any school for US$30. The Justice Department shut AlphBay down in July 2017.
Israeli authorities have accused him of earning about US$240,000 worth of the digital currency Bitcoin after selling his threat services on the dark web.
Kadar's parents have said he has a brain tumour that caused autism and other mental problems, making him unable to understand the nature of his actions.
If convicted, Kadar faces up to 20 years in prison for each hate crime charge and a maximum of 10 years for each bomb threat charge. The interstate threats charge the hoax charge and cyberstalking charge call for up to five years in prison apiece. — Reuters
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