Texas man accused of making death threats against Zohran Mamdani

Editor's note: The above video previously aired on Sep. 10.

QUEENS, N.Y. (WPIX) – A Texas man was arraigned in a Queens court Sept. 18 for allegedly making threats against New York City mayoral candidate Zohran Mamdani, Queens District Attorney Melinda Katz announced on Thursday.

Jeremy Fistel, 44, is accused of making "terroristic threat[s]" against Mamdani in a slew of "increasingly alarming" voice messages and emails to the state assemblymember, according to Katz.

Fistel could face up to 60 years in jail for the phone calls and emails that included hateful comments about Mamdani, his family, and Muslims, prosecutors said.

Prosecutors read out the calls and emails in court, which included many expletives and mentions of violence against Mamdani. The calls and emails, sent to Mamdani's official state Assembly channels, started in June and spanned through late July, prosecutors said.

"The defendant told the assemblyman to go back to Uganda before someone shoots him in the head, to keep an eye on his house and family, to watch his back every second until he leaves America," Katz said. "We take threats of violence against any office holder extremely seriously."

Fistel is from Plano, Texas, but has a brother who lives in Queens, according to his defense attorney. His defense attorney argued the messages are examples of free speech.

"Nobody is arguing what he did was proper… it’s unpleasant… but it’s free speech," Fistel's defense attorney said.

Mamdani's staff reported the messages to law enforcement in June, prosecutors said. Fistel was arrested in September in Texas, then extradited to Queens.