A federal court in New York City on Thursday sentenced an Arizona man to 49 months in prison for making violent antisemitic threats against Jewish hotel owners whose son had served in the IDF and posted combat footage from Gaza.
Donovan Hall, who pleaded guilty earlier this year, was will be subject to three years of probation after his release from prison. Prosecutors said Hall sent hundreds of threats to the family and their hotel, including photos of weapons and messages referencing their son’s military service in Gaza.
The case, prosecuted in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York, drew attention for its intersection of online extremism, antisemitism and anti-Israel incitement. Authorities said Hall began harassing the family in 2023, after video clips shared by their son—an American citizen who volunteered in the IDF as a lone soldier—gained traction among anti-Israel activists online.
In one widely circulated video, the soldier is seen firing a light machine gun from a first-person perspective toward a cluster of buildings. Another video shows a building exploding. The footage led to a social media campaign accusing the soldier of indiscriminate fire.
An Instagram account called Stop Arab Hate posted the videos and identified the family’s hotel, sharing contact information. The posts were viewed millions of times.
Following the post, Hall began a campaign of threats that included dozens of antisemitic phone calls. In one message, he sent a photo of a gun with the caption: “I’ve got something for you and your inbred children.” In another, he shared an image of a knife, writing, “This knife is for child molesters such as your son.” A third image showed a hand on a pistol, labeled “For the Zionist cowards.”
Federal agents found both weapons shown in the threats during a search of Hall’s home at the time of his arrest. One was loaded; neither was registered in his name.
“Hall’s sentencing speaks volumes about the severity of his crimes, and the seriousness with which the law takes them,” Special Agent in Charge Roddy said. “After being remanded for approximately 10 months, Hall’s guilty plea still resulted in the near-maximum sentence allowed for his calculated campaign of anti-Semitic rhetoric. His reign of fear is over and serves as a reminder to those who think they can hide behind computers, phone lines, and texts - the FBI treats all threats of violence with the utmost seriousness. The FBI will not relent in seeking justice for the victims of these egregious crimes.”
Prosecutors said that even his guilty plea did not spare him from a punishment approaching the statutory maximum, given the severity and premeditated nature of his threats.