ORLANDO, Fla. — A U.S.-Israeli citizen was arraigned in Orlando on Monday on federal charges tied to threats against Jewish institutions in Florida, prosecutors said.
Michael Ron David Kadar, 27, is charged in the Middle District of Florida with hate crimes and obstruction of the free exercise of religion, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office.
Federal prosecutors said the indictment alleges Kadar made threats against Jewish institutions throughout Florida, including schools and community centers.
According to prosecutors, Kadar made multiple calls in early 2017 relaying bomb and active shooter threats to Jewish Community Centers across Florida, including preschool programs operated at those facilities.
Many of the calls led to temporary closures, evacuations or lockdowns and required law enforcement and emergency crews to respond, prosecutors said.
No explosives were found, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office.
Court records from the original 2017 complaint show several Orlando-area locations were named in the case.
According to the complaint, Kadar was accused of calling Chabad South Orlando on Jan. 4, 2017, and saying there was a bomb in the school. The complaint said Chabad South Orlando operated a Jewish day school and preschool.
Minutes later, prosecutors said Kadar called the Jewish Academy of Orlando, which was housed in the Roth Jewish Community Center of Greater Orlando in Maitland.
The complaint also references additional calls involving the Roth JCC, Glenridge Middle School in Orlando and Orlando International Airport.
Federal authorities said the calls were part of a broader series of threats made to facilities across the United States and abroad.
“Targeting individuals, groups, or institutions for their religious beliefs is contradictory to the freedoms guaranteed by our Constitution and against the law,” U.S. Attorney Gregory W. Kehoe said in a statement. “The crimes alleged in this indictment caused undue trepidation and threats of harm to the Jewish community in our district and will not be tolerated.”
Prosecutors said Kadar arrived in the United States on June 18 after being extradited from Norway, where he had been detained at the request of the United States.
Kadar had traveled to Norway after serving a sentence in Israel for related conduct, prosecutors said.
Kadar also faces charges in Washington, D.C., tied to threats against the Israeli Embassy and the Anti-Defamation League’s Washington offices, prosecutors said.
He also faces charges in the Middle District of Georgia tied to cyberstalking and a false report to police dispatch about an alleged hostage situation at a residence in Athens, Georgia.
The hate crime charges each carry a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison. The bomb threat charges each carry a maximum penalty of 10 years in prison, and the interstate threat charges carry a maximum penalty of five years in prison.
The case was investigated by the FBI Tampa Division, FBI Washington Field Office and FBI Atlanta Division.
An indictment is a formal charge. Every defendant is presumed innocent unless proven guilty in court.
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