Juan Thompson. Photo: YouTube screenshot.

JNS.org – Juan Thompson, the St. Louis-based former news reporter arrested in connection with eight bomb threats against Jewish institutions, pleaded not guilty to charges of cyber stalking during an appearance in a New York City federal court on Monday.

Thompson, 31, faces the charges following a series of threats he allegedly made to Jewish organizations during a wave of more than 150 bomb threats across North America since the beginning of 2017.

Thompson, a former reporter for The Intercept, was arrested in early March. He has been denied bail and faces up to five years in prison, as well as a fine of up to $250,000, if found guilty.

An FBI complaint states the suspect threatened JCCs in San Diego and New York City, Jewish schools in New York and Michigan, a New York City Jewish history museum and the Anti-Defamation League. Thompson reportedly made several of the threats in the name of a former love interest and also in his own name.

FBI Assistant Director in Charge William Sweeney Jr. said in a statement, “Thompson’s alleged pattern of harassment not only involved the defamation of his female victim, but his threats intimidated an entire community.”

In late March, an Israeli-American teenager living in Israel was arrested in connection to the majority of the bomb threats against JCCs and other Jewish institutions.