A man who allegedly threatened to kill hundreds of people if the FBI and CIA refused to protect him from Jewish people was arrested Monday in Miami, according to a Friday press release from the Miami-Dade County State Attorney’s Office.
Maximo De la Cruz de Jesus was charged with a second-degree felony of threats or extortion, according to jail records, Local 10 reported.
“A lot of people are going to die, like hundreds of people, shot dead, they’re going to get executed,” the suspect allegedly said in a phone call Monday to the FBI field office in Miami.
‘HUNDREDS ARE GOING TO DIE’: A Miami man was arrested this week after being accused of threatening authorities that he’d shoot hundreds of people if he didn’t receive FBI or CIA protection from Jewish people, prosecutors said Friday. https://t.co/QDxmQo5MXA
— WPLG Local 10 News (@WPLGLocal10) October 14, 2023
De la Cruz de Jesus allegedly initiated the 15-minute phone call in which he claimed he was “abused, manipulated, and kidnapped by the Jewish people” while demanding government protection, authorities said, according to the outlet. The suspect reportedly contacted the FBI many times prior to Monday, making similar requests, prosecutors said.
De la Cruz de Jesus is not a first-time offender, per the outlet. He was previously arrested for drawing graffiti of a swastika, the letters “KKK” and the number 33 on a synagogue sign, Local 10 reported. De la Cruz de Jesus’s attorney argued his client suffered from several mental illnesses, including schizophrenia.
The suspect reportedly mentioned his first offense repeatedly to the operator of Monday’s 911 call, prosecutors said, according to the outlet. (RELATED: ‘Not Happened Since The Nazis’: Ted Cruz Says Hamas Attacked Israel ‘Simply Because They’re Jews’)
De la Cruz de Jesus was held Friday night on magistrate hold at Turner Guilford Knight Correctional Center with undetermined bond, following his appearance at the Willkie D. Ferguson Jr. United States Courthouse, authorities said, the outlet reported.