What to Know
- Prosecutors said Thompson made threats against at least eight Jewish community centers, schools or other facilities to harass his girlfriend
- He allegedly sometimes emailed threats using the woman's name or used his name but claimed she was trying to implicate him
- Thompson's arrest came a few weeks before an Israeli-American man was arrested in Jerusalem as the primary suspect in the national threats
A former journalist from St. Louis has pleaded not guilty to charges he made bomb threats against several Jewish organizations, including some in the tri-state area.
Juan Thompson entered the plea Monday during a brief appearance in federal court in New York.
Prosecutors have accused the 32-year-old Thompson of making threats against Jewish community centers, schools or other facilities to harass his ex-girlfriend. They said he sometimes used her name.
They said in one message he claimed he had placed two bombs in a Jewish school and was "eager for Jewish Newtown," a reference to the 2012 school massacre in Newtown, Connecticut.
The government says it's collecting evidence from about two dozen laptops, tablets and cellphones seized from his home.
Thompson was fired from the online publication The Intercept last year.
Local
His next court date is May 18.
