A Plano man was indicted on 22 counts of terrorist-related hate crime charges against New York Assemblyman and Democratic candidate for mayor Zohran Mamdani, according to the district attorney in Queens, New York.
Jeremy Fistel, 44, faces four counts of making a terroristic threat as a hate crime, four counts of making a terroristic threat, seven counts of aggravated harassment in the second degree as a hate crime and seven counts of aggravated harassment in the second degree.
He was indicted on those charges Sept. 4, arrested Sept. 11 in Texas and extradited to Queens on Wednesday, according to a press release from Queens DA Melinda Katz.
"Let me be very clear," Katz said, "we take threats of violence against any office holder extremely seriously 鈥� and there is no room for hate or bigotry in our political discourse."
According to Katz, Fistel left anti-Muslim messages and threats on Mamdani's voicemail as well as written messages spanning from June through July.
Fistel could face up to 15 years in prison if convicted. Court records show he pleaded not guilty to all 22 charges.
According to Katz, Fistel鈥檚 messages and voicemails all included explicit language and anti-Muslim remarks against Mamdani.
He allegedly left Mamdani a voicemail message June 11, telling him to 鈥済o back to Uganda鈥� and threatening his family. A few days later, Fistel allegedly left another voicemail telling Mamdani he was not welcome in New York or America and to 鈥済o on and start your car. See what happens鈥eah, keep an eye on your house and your family.鈥�
On July 8, Fistel allegedly submitted a message through the assemblyman's website.
鈥淚 hope you get terminal cancer and die a painful death very soon,鈥� Fistel鈥檚 message reportedly read. 鈥淚鈥檇 love to see an IDF bullet go through your skull.鈥� The message also allegedly included violent comments about Mamdani's wife. Katz said another voicemail left a few days later had more explicit threats to Mamdani and his family, saying they 鈥渄eserved to die.鈥�
Mamdani鈥檚 staff first reported the messages to the police on June 18, Katz said, and Fistel allegedly blocked his caller ID during the calls before investigators later determined that the messages came from his mobile phone. The message submitted through the website is connected to Fistel鈥檚 email account, Katz said. His next court date is Nov. 19.
A 33-year-old democratic socialist and member of the state assembly since 2021, Mamdani won the Democratic bid for New York City mayor in July in an upset over former New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo. He'll face current Mayor Eric Adams and Cuomo, both running as independents, in the general election. Mamdani, who is Muslim, faced in the wake of his victory. He's also been a vocal opponent of Israel's war in Gaza, with some equating that opposition to .
He鈥檚 also faced backlash from Republicans including President Donald Trump, who in a past social media post called Mamdani a communist and implied federal funding could be withheld from the city if he is elected.
鈥淭his is a rather shocking development, and a very bad one for New York City,鈥� Trump wrote on Truth Social following Gov. Kathy Hochul's endorsement of Mamdani. 鈥淗ow can such a thing happen? Washington will be watching this situation very closely. No reason to be sending good money after bad!鈥�
Trump, without evidence, whether the candidate was in the U.S. without legal status during a press conference. Mamdani was born in Uganda, has lived in the U.S. since he was 7 years old and became a naturalized citizen in 2018.
If elected, Mamdani would be the city鈥檚 first Muslim mayor and its first of Indian American decent.
This is a developing story and will be updated.
