A routine argument over parking at Louis Armstrong New Orleans International Airport spiraled into a federal case, ending last week with an Alexandria man pleading guilty to phoning in a fake bomb threat.
Corey Johnson, 36, admitted in federal court that he twice called the airport's AVCOM operations center and threatened there was a bomb at the airport after a dispute over short-term parking fees. Prosecutors say he also threatened the safety of the AVCOM operator during those calls. Johnson was sentenced to a one-year term of probation, a relatively light outcome for a crime that can carry serious prison time.
According to a press release from the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Eastern District of Louisiana, the trouble started on November 7, 2025, when Johnson got into an argument with airport personnel while trying to exit a short-term parking garage. Investigators say that after the confrontation, he called AVCOM twice, claiming there was a bomb at the airport and threatening to harm the operator.
Deputies with the Jefferson Parish Sheriff's Office and the FBI tracked Johnson down and arrested him in a surface parking lot at the airport. The same press release notes that Assistant U.S. Attorney Spiro G. Latsis prosecuted the case under Operation Take Back America.
Local television coverage from WGNO summarized the court filings and investigators' narrative of what happened on the calls. Reporter Corbin Ross echoed federal documents stating that Johnson admitted making both calls and that the second one was more aggressive in tone, ratcheting up the threats.
Legal Details and Penalties
Johnson pleaded guilty to willfully conveying a bomb threat, a felony under Title 18, United States Code, Section 844(e). On paper, that statute is no joke: it carries a maximum of 10 years in prison, up to a $250,000 fine and up to three years of supervised release.
In this case, though, U.S. District Judge Jay C. Zainey imposed a one-year term of probation following the guilty plea, according to the U.S. Attorney's Office. Johnson avoids prison time for now, but the felony conviction itself underscores how a flare-up over a parking dispute can quickly land someone in federal court.
Airport Operations and Local Coverage
The episode, which started at the parking exit gate of the Louis Armstrong terminal, drew a federal indictment in December 2025, as Hoodline previously reported. That earlier coverage, facing ten years, noted that investigators from Jefferson and St. Charles parishes worked alongside the FBI in the probe.
Incidents like this keep airport security high on the federal radar. In a separate case, The Washington Post reported in early June that a man in Sacramento was charged after explosive material was discovered at a TSA checkpoint. Federal officials frequently point to cases like that as reminders of why even phoned-in threats at major travel hubs are treated as serious criminal matters, no matter how small the original dispute might seem.
