The U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of New Jersey charged Haim Braverman, 45, of Morris Plains, N.J., with threatening to kill a political commentator, “who had publicly commented on a prominent, now-deceased rabbi,” the Justice Department stated.
Per the complaint, Braverman, who runs a group chat on messaging platforms called “real Jewish,” posted a video on social media on Sept. 10, in which he “threatened to use a bat against the commentator, stating: ‘You’ll get what’s coming to you.’”
In a stream of expletives, the man allegedly threatened in the video to kill the female commentator using a “steel bat.”
“I wouldn’t even stop. I’d kill you. Dead,” he stated in the video, per the complaint. “I’m threatening a death sentence.”
Braverman faces up to five years in prison and as much as a $250,000 fine, per the Justice Department.
Per the complaint, the defendant wrote in the group chat at various points, “Please note we will be discussing weapons. Please leave
if this upsets you” and about burning Palestinian flags and photos of the Islamic prophet.
In mid-May, Braverman allowed police officers to enter his home to interview him, per the complaint. The latter “observed a stun gun, knives, a machete-style knife and a black steel baseball bat near the entrance to the residence,” it states.
The complaint didn’t specify which rabbi was allegedly being referenced.
