Source: United States Department of Justice (Hate Crime)
Edward Y. Kim, the Acting United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York, and Nelson I. Delgado, the Acting Special Agent in Charge of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (“FBI”) Newark Field Office, announced the return today of a three-count Indictment charging DONOVAN HALL with making interstate threats and interstate stalking. HALL was arrested on November 22, 2024, in Mesa, Arizona, and was subsequently presented in federal court in the District of Arizona. The case has been assigned to U.S. District Judge Jennifer H. Rearden.
Acting U.S. Attorney Edward Y. Kim said: “Donovan Hall allegedly unleashed a campaign of terror against several Jewish New Yorkers, allegedly sending scores of hateful, violent, and antisemitic death threats. No individual deserves to be at the receiving end of these types of threats or to be targeted because of their religion. This Office is committed to aggressively prosecuting hate crimes of all kinds and seeking justice for the victims of these offensive and harmful acts.”
Acting Special Agent in Charge Nelson I. Delgado said: “We allege Hall used graphic and hate-filled rhetoric to terrorize several victims in New York City and around the U.S. These malicious phone calls escalated to text messages brazenly displaying his weapons, furthering his victims’ worst fears. The FBI has ZERO tolerance for hate-filled speech, threats and violent actions. We will not rest until those who commit these types of crimes are held accountable.”
According to the Complaint, the Indictment, and other documents and statements in the public record:
Over a period of three months, HALL contacted several individuals located in New York, New York, (the “Victims”) approximately 1,000 times and made anti-Semitic and violent threats to torture, mutilate, and murder them and their families. In particular, starting in August 2024, HALL made dozens of threatening phone calls—many of which were anti-Semitic in nature—to the owner of a hotel located in Manhattan, the owner’s family members, and hotel staff. During these calls, HALL threatened numerous times to kill the Victims.
In October 2024, HALL escalated his threatening conduct by texting photographs of two firearms and a machete to the hotel owner, along with threats to use those weapons to harm the owner and his family. During a search of HALL’s residence in Arizona conducted on November 22, 2024, the firearms depicted in the text messages, among other weapons and ammunition, were recovered. The two firearms—neither of which is registered in HALL’s name—were located alongside his wallet in his backpack. One of the firearms was loaded.
HALL’s threats toward the Victims were part of a larger pattern of death threats sent to various other individuals. The targets of his threats are located throughout the U.S. In these communications, HALL consistently used violent and threatening language, and often targeted Jews.
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HALL, 34, of Mesa, Arizona, has been charged with two counts of making interstate threats, which each carry a maximum sentence of five years in prison, and one count of interstate stalking, which carries a maximum sentence of five years in prison.
The maximum potential sentences in this case are prescribed by Congress and are provided here for informational purposes only, as any sentencing of the defendant will be determined by a judge.
Mr. Kim praised the outstanding investigative work of the FBI’s Newark Field Office. Mr. Kim also thanked the New York Police Department, the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Arizona, the FBI Phoenix Field Office, the Mesa Police Department, and the Clifton Police Department in Clifton, New Jersey.
This case is being handled by the Office’s Civil Rights Unit in the Criminal Division. Assistant U.S. Attorney Sam Adelsberg is in charge of the prosecution.
The charges contained in the Indictment are merely accusations, and the defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty.