In a disturbing instance of targeted hate crime, Donavon Parish, a 29-year-old from Hattiesburg, Mississippi, pleaded guilty to multiple charges, including cyberstalking and using telecommunications devices to harass Jewish institutions, according to a report by the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania. Parish, during April and May 2022, is said to have made threatening and antisemitic phone calls to synagogues and Jewish-owned businesses across the Eastern District of Pennsylvania, directly challenging the sense of safety within these communities.
Facing up to 15 years in a federal prison, along with a possible fine of up to $1.5 million and a $600 special assessment, Parish’s guilty plea was entered before United States District Court Judge Cynthia M. Rufe. The Department of Justice reports his slew of intimidating calls included despicable references to the Holocaust and other Nazi phrases, such as “Heil Hitler,” and threats of violence against Jewish people.
U.S. Attorney Jacqueline C. Romero highlighted the severity of the offenses, emphasizing that the cyberstalking and religiously targeted harassment committed by Parish was made further reprehensible by the hate crime designation. “Cyberstalking is already a serious violation and targeting victims based on their religion is a hate crime, which makes it that much more abhorrent,” she stated. Wayne A. Jacobs, the FBI’s Special Agent in Charge of the Philadelphia Division, echoed Romero's views, condemning antisemitism and affirming the FBI’s commitment to protecting the community from such threats.
The case, having been investigated by the FBI, is now being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney J. Jeanette Kang of the Eastern District of Pennsylvania and Justin Sher of the DOJ’s National Security Division, with support from the Civil Rights Division and the Southern District of Mississippi's U.S. Attorney’s Office.
