Michael Kedar, a 27-year-old dual U.S.-Israeli citizen known as the "Askelon hacker," was extradited last week to the United States and appeared for the first time before a federal court in Orlando, Florida, where the indictment against him was read. He had already been convicted in Israel for sending terror threats against Jewish institutions and served seven years in prison there, but U.S. prosecutors say he will now be tried for the same campaign of threats in Florida.
The indictment accuses Kedar of hate crimes and obstructing religious freedom at Jewish community institutions across Florida, including community centers, schools and kindergartens. According to prosecutors, he began a planned intimidation campaign in early 2017 that included fake bomb threats and active-shooter hoaxes. The calls often forced temporary closures, emergency evacuations of children and staff, and large-scale security searches, though no explosives were ever found. The Justice Department says each hate-crime count carries up to 20 years, bomb-threat counts up to 10 years, and interstate threats up to 5 years, for a potential total of 35 years, plus possible restitution.
The broader FBI case filed in 2017 says Kedar made at least 245 threatening calls between January and March of that year, targeting Jewish community centers, Jewish schools and the Anti-Defamation League offices. He was later convicted in Israel of about 2,000 false threats against both Jewish and non-Jewish targets, including schools, police stations and airports in several countries. Investigators said he operated from Ashkelon, used caller-ID spoofing, Google Voice accounts, multiple email addresses, proxy servers and Bitcoin payments, and stored recordings, target lists and press clippings on his devices. One file titled "Jewish schools list" included schools in New York, Georgia, Alabama and Florida.
The case also remains open in Washington and Georgia. In the District of Columbia, authorities accuse him of threatening the Israeli Embassy and local ADL offices, and in Georgia he faces charges over cyberstalking and a false report to police about a staged hostage situation in Athens, Georgia. U.S. officials condemned the alleged conduct, with Assistant Attorney General A. Tyssen Dubose calling it an abuse of technology against houses of worship and community centers, and Florida prosecutor Gregory Kehoe saying the acts caused needless fear and will not be tolerated. Kedar was transferred from Norway on Thursday after being arrested there about 18 months ago, following his departure from Israel after his first detention. His defense says he has already been tried and punished for the conduct, and cited autism, a brain tumor, worsening health in Norwegian custody, and suicide attempts.
