A 41-year-old freelance reporter for the Arab American News faces up to five years in federal prison after allegedly threatening online to “kill every Jew” and “to make sure that every CIA member who is pro-Israel is eliminated.”
Jeffrey Stevens of Fort Wayne, Indiana, allegedly sent the threats from September to December, via Facebook Messenger and on the Central Intelligence Agency’s website, according to a federal affidavit that was filed last week in U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Indiana.
“I am going to kill every Jew in ft. Wayne, and there is nothing you can do to stop it because you are stupid n______,” Stevens allegedly messaged the Fort Wayne Police Department’s Facebook account on Nov. 20. “I am going to make sure I kill every one of you, especially the dark ones, and there is nothing you stupid n______ can (do) about it.”
Stevens told federal agents that he sent the posts because he “does things when he’s drunk,” according to the 10 page affidavit.
Stevens is charged with interstate communication of a threat, which carries a maximum penalty of five years in prison.
Stevens’ attorney in Indiana, Michelle Kraus, did not immediately return a phone call Monday seeking comment.
Arab American News publisher Osama Siblani said Stevens was a freelance writer for the Dearborn-based publication. Siblani said Monday he hadn’t heard of Stevens’ arrest.
“He didn’t actually work for us, although his articles are on our website,” Siblani said. “He’s definitely against Israel 100%. … We didn’t post most of the stuff he sent us because it didn’t meet our editorial standards.”
Stevens is listed on the Arab American News website as “the founder and director of the Azarias Project, a 501c3 nonprofit organization publishing the truth from Gaza and the West Bank that isn’t found through mainstream media.”
Stevens wrote 45 articles for the Arab American News going back to November 2022. His most recent story for the Dearborn publication was a Nov. 21 piece about concerns over “mysterious” military flights from Tel Aviv into Lebanon.
Other recent Arab American News stories by Stevens include an article about legislators urging President Joe Biden to call for a ceasefire in Gaza, and a Nov. 12 story headlined, ” President Biden quickly losing Arab support over genocide in Gaza.”
A concerned Facebook user on Oct. 13 alerted the Federal Bureau of Investigation to Stevens’ posts about the Oct. 7 Hamas terrorist attack in Israel, according to last week’s federal indictment. One of the posts said, “Death to the Zionist,” the indictment said.
After the tip, federal agents dug into Stevens’ online activity, the affidavit said.
According to the affidavit, on Sept. 28, Stevens posted to the Central Intelligence Agency’s website, “I am a journalist covering the Middle East with very strong connections throughout the West Bank. … I would like to be involved with anything against not exactly Israel, but (Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin) Netanyahu’s far-right government that will cause problems for the US. I will make a lot of noise with or without you.”
On Oct. 8, a day after the Hamas attack, Stevens allegedly wrote to the CIA: “I have very strong Palestinian, Hezbollah, and Iranian contacts. You people had better wake up. If the US strikes Palestinian resistance, you will be destroyed. I cannot wait until CIA operatives start getting eliminated. I am going to laugh.”
In a third alleged message to the CIA, federal authorities said Stevens wrote on Nov. 17, “I am going to shoot every pro-israel US government official in the head, and there is nothing you can do about it because you are the pathetic CIA. I am going to kill all of you.”
On Dec. 10, Stevens allegedly posted to the CIA website: “People will remember me. I am going to be the pro-Palestinian who finally had enough that i started eliminating CIA operatives. You will only be remembered as one of the many bitches who were slaughtered. I am going to make sure that every CIA member who is pro-Israel is eliminated. I am so confident that I will give you my phone number, and there is nothing you can do about it because you are a botch (sic). I will f___ you up.”
After federal agents executed a search warrant of Stevens’ home on Feb. 2, he admitted to sending the messages, according to the indictment.
“Stevens also said that he has a drinking problem and that he does things when he is drunk, like the above post and message,” the indictment said.
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