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Friday, March 29, 2024 | Back issues
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LA Man Pleads Guilty to Harassing Islamic Center

A man charged with posting anti-Muslim material on an Islamic center’s social media page, calling in death threats and attempting to discourage investigators from testifying against him pleaded guilty this week to two misdemeanor charges, according to the Department of Justice.

LOS ANGELES (CN) – A man charged with posting anti-Muslim material on an Islamic center’s social media page, calling in death threats and attempting to discourage investigators from testifying against him pleaded guilty this week to two misdemeanor charges, according to the Department of Justice.

Mark Feigin, 41, pleaded guilty to making harassing electronic communication to the Islamic Center of Southern California in Los Angeles in September 2016. He went on to send text messages to investigators after he was arrested to discourage them from testifying at his trial.

Feigin posted anti-Muslim rhetoric and threats on the center’s Facebook page, according to the state Attorney General’s office. Authorities also accused him of calling in death threats to the Islamic center.

When law enforcement arrested Feigin at his home, officers found 15 guns and more than five buckets of ammunition. Officers served Feigin with a search and arrest warrant on the same day, according to prosecutors.

California Attorney General Xavier Becerra said in a statement, “We will not turn a blind eye to violent threats targeted at individuals based on prejudice, whether because of race, ethnicity, religion, disability, gender or sexual orientation. An attack on one of us is an attack on all of us. The California Department of Justice will vigorously prosecute those who commit crimes motivated by hate. This plea reinforces our commitment.”

Feigin was arrested when Kamala Harris, now a U.S. senator, served as California’s attorney general. At the time the Attorney General’s office charged Feigin with one felony count of criminal threats with a special hate crime allegation. Under that charge, he faced six years in prison.

An email about the updated charges for Feigin was not immediately answered by the Attorney General’s office.

Feigin will return to court for sentencing May 1.

Categories / Criminal

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