Troy Resident Charged with Communicating Threats

GREENSBORO – Sandra J. Hairston, United States Attorney for the Middle District of North Carolina, announced today that JEFFREY SCOTT HOBGOOD, of Troy, was arrested yesterday and charged with communicating threats.

According to publicly filed court documents, on or about October 11, 2023, HOBGOOD sent an email to an address associated with a Jewish organization stating, in part, “I am going to take out every one of you.”  On October 13, 2023, after being contacted by law enforcement, HOBGOOD sent a second email to the same address saying, in part, “Guess what happens to traitors? . . . Public execution. . . . We are at war . . . . If you think you semite pieces of s[***] are going to win, then you are delusional.”

Court documents further allege that in June 2022, HOBGOOD sent multiple threatening emails to a family member.

HOBGOOD is charged with a violation of Title 18, United States Code, Section 875(c), transmitting in interstate commerce a communication containing a threat to injure the person of another. If convicted, HOBGOOD faces a maximum term of 5 years of imprisonment, a fine not to exceed $250,000, or both.

“No one in America should be threatened based on their race, nationality, religion, gender, or other protected characteristics,” said United States Attorney Sandra J. Hairston.  “Individuals who target other community members will be held accountable for their actions.”

“No one should be threatened with violence or acts of hate because of who they are or how they worship. The FBI partners with communities of faith across North Carolina. Crimes driven by hate have no place in our state,” said Robert M. DeWitt, Special Agent in Charge of the FBI in North Carolina.

A criminal complaint is merely an allegation, and all defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.

The case is being investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation and prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorneys JoAnna McFadden and Ashley Waid.

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