Neo-Nazi’s Vile Bomb Threats Against Jewish Hospitals Land Him 5 Years in Prison
A Portland man was sentenced to five years for making antisemitic bomb threats against Jewish hospitals in New York, causing evacuations and fear. The case, fueled by his neo-Nazi ideology, highlights the growing threat of antisemitic swatting and online extremism.
A federal judge in Brooklyn has sentenced 31-year-old Domagoj Patkovic of Portland, Oregon, to five years in prison for orchestrating a series of antisemitic bomb threats targeting Jewish hospitals across New York City and Long Island. Patkovic, who pleaded guilty to conspiring to make threats and conveying false information about explosives, forced evacuations and diverted emergency resources from at least six medical facilities starting in May 2021. U.S. Attorney Joseph Nocella Jr. condemned the acts, stating, “The defendant endangered patients and diverted precious law enforcement resources to advance his hateful agenda against people of the Jewish faith. His actions fed a rising tide of antisemitism in America.”
Patkovic’s campaign included chilling calls, such as one to a Brooklyn hospital where he declared, “I’ve planted bombs in all the rooms. I’m going to kill all the kikes.” In another, he threatened, “You have 15 bags full of C-4 with phones attached in all the maintenance rooms. If you don’t pay a million dollars, I’ll blow you sky-high.” A September 2021 threat led to a partial evacuation and lockdown of a Long Island hospital, with bomb sweeps lasting hours, all confirmed as hoaxes. Disturbingly, Patkovic livestreamed these swatting calls on Discord, a platform increasingly used by white nationalists, where viewers egged him on. FBI agents uncovered a photo on his phone showing him giving a Nazi salute over an unconscious person, underscoring his extremist ideology.
Arrested in August 2024 after a two-year manhunt, Patkovic faced up to 155 years but secured a plea deal reducing his sentence. FBI Assistant Director Christopher G. Raia stated, “Domagoj Patkovic will spend significant time in prison for his targeting of Jewish hospitals across the New York metro area with hoax bomb threats. These hoax threats, motivated by Patkovic’s insidious antisemitic views, wasted law enforcement resources and put innocent lives at risk.”
The case, amid a 104% rise in U.S. anti-Semitic incidents in 2024 per ADL data, sparked outrage on X, with one user posting, “Patkovic’s hate endangered lives, five years isn’t enough.” The Anti-Defamation League noted a surge in swatting incidents, with 2,645 reported against Jewish institutions since 2023.