Man Arrested for Cyberstalking and Making Antisemitic Threats Targeting Synagogues and Jewish-Owned Businesses

Donavon Parish, 28, of Hattiesburg, Mississippi, was arrested today and charged by indictment for allegedly engaging in cyberstalking and communicating interstate threats. The indictment alleges the defendant targeted his victims based on their actual or perceived religion, that is, the Jewish faith.

According to the indictment, in April and May 2022, the defendant used a voiceover internet protocol service to make a series of phone calls to synagogues and Jewish-owned businesses in the Eastern District of Pennsylvania. In these calls, Parish allegedly spoke to individuals answering the telephone calls on behalf of their respective institutions, at which time he repeatedly referenced the genocide of approximately six million Jewish people during the Holocaust, stating, among other things, “Heil Hitler,” “all Jews must die,” “we will put you in work camps,” “gas the Jews,” and “Hitler should have finished the job.”

If convicted, Parish faces a statutory maximum sentence of 50 years in prison. A federal district court judge will determine any sentence after considering the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.

Assistant Attorney General Matthew G. Olsen of the Justice Department’s National Security Division, U.S. Attorney Jacqueline C. Romero for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania and Assistant Director Robert Wells of the FBI’s Counterterrorism Division made the announcement.

The FBI is investigating the case.

The Eastern District of Pennsylvania and National Security Division’s Counterterrorism Section are prosecuting the case, with assistance from the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division and the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Mississippi.

An indictment is merely an allegation. All defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.