Local man arrested for bomb threats will stay in jail, judge rules

The St. Louis man accused of making bomb threats against Jewish community centers will remain in a corrections facility as he awaits trial, U.S. Magistrate Judge David Noce ruled Monday.

Juan Thompson, 32, is suspected of using social media and telephone calls to threaten Jewish centers and of harassing an ex-girlfriend, who he tried to frame for the threats.

More than 150 threats have been called into Jewish institutions this year, according to the Secure Community Network, but Thompson is not suspected of making all the threats and they have continued since he was arrested and charged with cyberstalking on March 3.

At least seven Jewish centers received bomb threats while they were hosting Purim events earlier this week, according to JTA.

Thompson once worked as a journalist for the online news organization The Intercept, but was fired after he allegedly fabricated sources and quotes.

He had sought to be released to live in his parent’s home in the St. Louis area, from which all firearms and digital devices have been removed. But the Eastern District of Missouri judge ruled that if released, Thompson “could pose a serious danger to (the victim) and to others in the community,” in part because he had violated past protection orders.