‘Death to the Zionist’: American Journalist Arrested After Threatening to Kill Jews, Zionists, and Federal Workers
A reported photo of Jeffrey Stevens. Source: Twitter/X
After making death threats against Jews and government officials, a freelance journalist for the Dearborn, Michigan-based publication The Arab American News, was arrested earlier this week and now faces up to five years in federal prison.
Forty-one-year-old Jeffrey Stevens, who lives in Indiana, was charged with one count of making threats using interstate communication, which carries a maximum punishment of five years in prison.
He reportedly wrote “I am going to kill every Jew in ft. Wayne, and there is nothing you can do to stop it because you are stupid n***ers,” in a Facebook message to Inidana’s Fort Wayne Police Department. He continued, “I am going to make sure I kill every one of you, especially the dark ones, and there is nothing you stupid n***ers can [do] about it.”
According to an affidavit, he also threatened to “shoot every pro-Israel U.S. government official” and “make sure that every CIA member who is pro-Israel is eliminated.”
He claimed he had “strong Palestinian, Hezbollah, and Iranian contacts.”
In December, Stevens also allegedly wrote “People will remember me. I am going to be the pro-Palestinian who finally had enough that i started eliminating CIA operatives. You will only be remembered as one of the many bitches who were slaughtered. I am going to make sure that every CIA member who is pro-Israel is eliminated. I am so confident that I will give you my phone number, and there is nothing you can do about it because you are a botch [sic]. I will f**k you up.”
He admitted to making such threats during an interview with the FBI in early February, according to reports. He claims that he was drunk when he did so.
Stevens has written more than 40 articles for The Arab American News, mainly about Israel-related subjects.
In a statement to The Algemeiner, the paper’s publisher, Osama Siblani, wrote that “I really don’t know the person very well. I spoke to him couple of times he mentioned to me that he was working for the Jerusalem Post in Israel and he is now in Indiana and would like to submit articles for publication to The Arab American News for no charge. I accepted to review and publish what is acceptable to our publication at no charge. And that was the case.”
Siblani pointed out that “We have not published anything from Mr. Steven’s [sic] since sometimes [sic] in November last year.”
The FBI was initially made aware of Stevens directly after Hamas’s October 7 terrorist attack when he posted “Death to the Zionist” on Facebook. However, there is no indication the paper would have known about such comments at the time.
“As for the threat he made, of course, they are his and we vehemently disagree with them and totally and unequivocally condemn these threats against anyone,” Siblani noted.
He also made clear that “Mr. Steven’s is not our employee and he never was. He was simply one of many contributors. We won’t accept any further submission from him. We are totally shocked and disappointed that he resorted to these kind [sic] of threats even though reports indicate that he was intoxicated when he made them, still that is not an excuse.”
Stevens is being held without bond due to a prior criminal record and to ensure he shows up to his court date.
Since October 7, antisemitic incidents have surged in the U.S. by more than 330%, according to the Anti-Defamation League.
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