An Oregon man who admitted to making bomb threats against Jewish medical facilities in New York has been sentenced to five years in prison, the US Department of Justice announced Wednesday.
Domagoj Patkovic, 31, pleaded guilty in February to charges related to threats against hospitals in Queens and Long Island. Prosecutors said he conspired to make threats and provided false information about explosives.
Beginning in May 2021, Patkovic made six separate threatening calls to Jewish hospitals and care centers, claiming he intended to detonate explosive devices. The threats, which were ultimately hoaxes, forced a partial evacuation and lockdown of one hospital in September 2021.
According to the US Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of New York, Patkovic “livestreamed the calls to others on an online social media and electronic communications platform to amplify his hate-filled actions.”
“The defendant endangered patients and diverted precious law-enforcement resources to advance his hateful agenda against people of the Jewish faith,” stated US Attorney Joseph Nocella. “His actions fed a rising tide of antisemitism in America.”
Nocella emphasized the seriousness of the crime, saying his office would continue to “prosecute dangerous bomb threats and swatting schemes to the fullest extent of the law, especially those motivated by hate.”