Sarasota Man Charged With Threatening Jewish Organization In New York

Tampa, Florida – United States Attorney Roger B. Handberg announces the unsealing of a criminal complaint charging Deep Alpesh Kumar Patel (21, Sarasota) with transmitting an interstate threat to injure. If convicted, Patel faces a maximum penalty of five years in federal prison. 

According to the complaint affidavit, on October 21, 2023, Patel left a threatening voicemail at the World Jewish Congress in New York City identifying himself by name and screaming, among other expletives, “If I had a chance, I would kill every single one of you Israelis. Every single one of you! Cause mass genocide of every single Israeli.”

A criminal complaint is merely a formal charge that a defendant has committed one or more violations of federal criminal law, and every defendant is presumed innocent unless, and until, proven guilty.

This case was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation’s Joint Terrorism Task Force, with valuable assistance from the Florida Department of Law Enforcement, the Sarasota Police Department, and the Sarasota County Sheriff’s Office. It will be prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Risha Asokan.