Last week, a California woman was been handed down a 32-month prison sentence for spewing anti-Semitic vitriol and making threats of violence against the former Executive Director of Pittsburgh’s Tree of Life Synagogue and his family. Melanie Harris, 59, of Riverside, conveyed her hateful messages through a series of phone calls and voicemails that shook the recipients to their core.
U.S. District Judge Roy K. Altman sentenced Harris yesterday, ensuring she will also endure three years of supervised release post-incarceration, as she previously admitted to knowingly and intentionally transmitting a threatening communication in interstate commerce. The chilling details revealed how Harris promised to "cut your f------ head off kiker," using a historical slur against Jews, in her barrage of phone threats, as per the Justice Department.
In a statement given to the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Florida, U.S. Attorney Markenzy Lapointe underscored the severity of Harris's actions, stating, “Her hate-filled telephone calls and voicemails were abhorrent. No one should have to live in fear of threats, harassment, and hate-fueled violence.”
According to court documents, Harris's relentless assault began in October 2022 when she made multiple calls to the executive director's cell phone, using the *67 feature to obscure her identity and leaving the victims to grapple with an unseen menace. Not only did she reference the mass shooting at the Tree of Life Synagogue, but Harris also invoked the holocaust, citing Anne Frank and Auschwitz in her tirade, pushing her victims into a perpetual state of fear.
The FBI's relentless investigation, alongside the Southern District of Florida's prosecutorial efforts, brought justice in the form of Harris's conviction. Jeffrey B. Veltri, Special Agent in Charge at the FBI Miami Field Office, stressed the unacceptable nature of such conduct, committing that “Violence through words or actions is unacceptable and the FBI will continue to do everything we can to identify, arrest, and bring to justice those who engage in similar conduct,” according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office.
In response to increasing hate crimes, the Department of Justice has mounted an aggressive campaign through the United Against Hate program, aimed at connecting community groups with law enforcement to build alliances and combat such hateful acts. As part of this whole-of-government approach, authorities continue to encourage anyone with information relating to threats or hate crimes to step forward and contact law enforcement or the FBI.
