Nassau County District Attorney Anne T. Donnelly announced that a West Hempstead man was indicted on aggravated harassment as a hate crime and other charges for calls he allegedly made to a Florida elected official in November 2023 that were threatening in nature and anti-Semitic.
Jacob Burbar, 60, was arraigned today before Judge Colin O’Donnell and charged with two counts of Aggravated Harassment in the Second Degree as a Hate Crime (an E felony) and two counts of Aggravated Harassment in the Second Degree (an A misdemeanor). The defendant pleaded not guilty and was released to pre-trial services. An order of protection was also issued. The defendant is due back in court on May 1, 2024. If convicted, the defendant faces up to 1-1/3 to 4 years in prison.
“This defendant allegedly targeted an elected official in Florida after seeing videos posted on Instagram about the Hamas/Israel conflict and left several messages on her office voicemail with anti-Semitic slurs and horrific threats of violence against the legislator and her family,” said DA Donnelly. “There is no excuse for spewing vitriol, targeting a person for their ethnicity, or threatening children. NCDA takes acts of hate seriously. Whenever my office receives an allegation that a hate crime was committed, we investigate it thoroughly. If there is evidence to support charges, we will prosecute the offenders.”
DA Donnelly said that, according to the indictment and charges, on November 11, 2023, beginning at approximately 6:00 p.m., the defendant allegedly called a Florida House of Representatives member’s office and left five voicemails.
In the voicemails, the defendant allegedly used numerous slurs and anti-Semitic language, as well as threatened to kill the legislator and her children.
The defendant was arrested on November 20, 2023, in West Hempstead by the Nassau County Police Department’s Special Investigations Squad.
This case is being prosecuted by Assistant District Attorney Ryan Bonomi of the County Court Trial Bureau. The defendant is represented by Daniel Fazio, Esq.
The charges are merely accusations, and the defendant is presumed innocent until and unless found guilty.