MIAMI, FL – A Miami man has been arrested after making disturbing threats of violence, including a plan to kill “hundreds of people” at a building and a concert unless he received FBI and CIA protection from Jewish individuals.
Maximo de la Cruz de Jesus, 52, was apprehended earlier this month for threats and extortion, as revealed in a press release jointly issued by Miami-Dade State Attorney Katherine Fernandez Rundle, the FBI’s Joint Terrorism Task Force, and the City of Miami Police Department.
The arrest followed a chilling phone call received by the FBI Miami field office on October 9th. During the call, de la Cruz de Jesus ominously stated, “a lot of people are going to die, like hundreds of people, shot dead they’re going to get executed.” He continued by making threats to carry out a mass shooting using an automatic weapon in a building and at a concert. His alarming statements were directed towards the FBI operator.
De la Cruz de Jesus claimed that he had been “abused, manipulated, and kidnapped by the Jewish people.” He insisted that he had contacted the FBI multiple times over the years to report crimes and seek protection from harassment. He went on to express his desire for attention as the motivation behind his threats.
He implored, “What I want resolved is that I need protection. From a very…from…from…from…from somebody in the government of the United States because I pay my taxes. I pay taxes and I need some kind of protection.”
The press release stated that he desired protection either from the local police in the City of Miami or from federal agencies like the FBI and CIA. He continued to attribute his grievances to Jewish individuals.
Miami-Dade State Attorney Katherine Fernandez Rundle commented on the case. She highlighed that any threat of mass violence is alarming, and further noted that these kinds of threats will never be tolerated.
De la Cruz de Jesus has faced accusations of antisemitism in the past. In 2014, he was also charged with criminal mischief after allegedly defacing a Miami Beach synagogue’s sign with a swastika, “KKK,” the number 33, and various other offensive symbols and words.