A Hattiesburg man has been arrested for targeting synagogues and Jewish-owned businesses in Pennsylvania.
28-year-old Donavon Parish is accused of using a voice-over-internet protocol service to make a series of phone calls to synagogues and Jewish-owned businesses in the northeastern state.
In these calls, the defendant allegedly spoke to individuals answering on behalf of their respective institutions, at which time he repeatedly referenced the Holocaust, Adolf Hitler, work camps, among making other anti-semitic comments.
Parish was indicted on felony charges of cyberstalking and communicating interstate threats. A federal grand jury determined that the defendant targeted his victims based on their actual and perceived religion.
If convicted, he faces a maximum possible prison sentence of 50, three years of supervised release, a $2,500,000 fine, and a $1,000 special assessment.
The case was investigated by the FBI and is being prosecuted by the United States Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania and the United States Department of Justice’s National Security Division (Counterterrorism Section), with assistance from the United States Department of Justice’s Civil Rights Division and the United States Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Mississippi.
