A 35-year-old man from Northridge, California, has been sentenced to three years and seven months in federal prison after sending a series of threats towards a woman while threatening to exterminate Asian and Jewish Americans.
Andre Lackner plead guilty to stalking charges and admitted sending the messages back in January, according to the U.S. District Attorney’s office. He previously faced a sentence of five years, but the sentence was cut down to 43 months after, Lackner admitted to sending bigoted and racially-motivated threats.
As reported on by the Daily Breeze, court documents said that from June 2021 to October 2022, Lackner sent the victim identified only as M.S. antisemitic remarks such as “Hitler was right about you people”, “I want to see every single Jew exterminated from this Earth”. “Would you like to celebrate the next synagogue shooting?”, said another message. “I will make sure I kill a Jew before I leave this Earth.”.
Prosecutors said the woman also received multiple racist threats about Asian Americans from Lackner as well, such as “the Asians are even worse”. Another message said “We need to start more Asian hate and wipe” Asian people “off the planet too,”.
The messages caused M.S. to fear “to fear for her safety, that of her family, and that of the larger community,” reported the Los Angeles Times.
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The report said M.S. had previously known Lackner when they met in Santa Monica College in 2006. They were both in a relationship but ended it on friendly terms. When Lackner started to send her messages about hurting himself M.S. told him to seek help. She then reported him to the FBI after receiving the threatening and prejudiced messages. She also told law enforcement that Lackner was aware that her family was Jewish and said that “he may remember where my family now lives”, and “he might try to go there and hurt Jews.”.
“The defendant admitted to stalking victims based on either their religion or their race by making vile threats for more than a year”, stated Krysti Hawkins, the Acting Assistant Director in Charge of the FBI’s Los Angeles Field Office. “Today’s sentence is evidence that there is zero tolerance for criminal activity rooted in hatred, and of the FBI’s commitment to holding accountable those who seek to threaten or harm innocent victims.”. she continued in statement.
“My office will remain steadfast in standing up to hate and working to unite our community”, added US Attorney Martin Estrada. “Our nation is one of inclusion, not exclusion, and through this case we send a strong message that we will not tolerate attempts to divide us.”
Lackner has remained in federal custody since December 2022.
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Prison sentences are fine. But what will they do to heal this man’s racism before he gets out?