PORTLAND, Ore. — A Portland man was arrested Thursday on charges of making bomb threats against Jewish hospitals and care centers in New York City and Long Island, leading to at least one hospital being partially evacuated and placed under lockdown. Domagoj Patkovic, 31, was indicted on multiple counts, including conspiring to make threats concerning explosives, transmitting threatening communications, and conveying false information about explosives.
Breon Peace, United States Attorney for the Eastern District of New York, and Christie M. Curtis, Acting Assistant Director in Charge of the Federal Bureau of Investigation’s New York Field Office, announced the charges.
“As alleged, the defendant and his coconspirators, motivated by their hatred of Jewish people, targeted Jewish hospitals and care centers in New York City and on Long Island with hoax bomb threats, needlessly endangering patients and staff by creating chaos and alarm,” said U.S. Attorney Peace. “Our highest priority is ensuring all members of our community are protected, and we will use all resources possible to prosecute dangerous bomb threats and swatting schemes to the fullest extent of the law.”
Patkovic was apprehended at his Portland residence and is expected to make his initial court appearance before U.S. Magistrate Judge Youlee Yim Yu in the U.S. District Court of Oregon later today.
According to the unsealed indictment, Patkovic and his coconspirators began making anonymous phone calls as early as May 2021, in which they threatened to detonate explosive devices at Jewish healthcare facilities within the Eastern District of New York, as well as other locations across the United States. The indictment alleges that Patkovic personally made threats in at least six separate calls, including one to local law enforcement responding to a 911 call from a hospital. These calls were reportedly livestreamed to others on an online social media and communications platform.
On several occasions, local police conducted bomb sweeps in response to the threats. In one notable incident in September 2021, a hoax bomb threat led to a partial evacuation and lockdown of a hospital on Long Island. No explosives were found at any of the threatened locations.
FBI Acting Assistant Director in Charge Curtis condemned the alleged actions: “Domagoj Patkovic allegedly issued a series of false bomb threats against Jewish healthcare facilities that prompted repeated emergency responses from local law enforcement and a partial evacuation from at least one hospital. These alleged actions incited unnecessary hysteria and redirected limited resources to mitigate a false alarm. The FBI will not tolerate those who utilize hoax bomb threat schemes to satisfy their anti-Semitic beliefs and endanger the well-being of our communities.”
If convicted, Patkovic faces up to 155 years in federal prison. The charges against him are currently allegations, and he is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty.
The case is being handled by the National Security & Cybercrime Section of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of New York. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Alexander A. Solomon, Laura Zuckerwise, and Andrew D. Reich are leading the prosecution, with assistance from Trial Attorney James Donnelly of the National Security Division’s Counterterrorism Section and Paralegal Specialist Wayne Colon.
