SAVANNAH, Ga. (WSAV) - A federal judge has sentenced a man who was charged with making bomb threats targeting a mosque and office center in 2023.
Mohammed Arafat Afaneh was sentenced to 15 months in prison and three years of supervised release on December 19, 2024. Afaneh was also fined $1,500 and $100 for a special assessment.
A federal indictment alleged that on Nov. 17, Afaneh communicated via Instagram that a bomb that would detonate at 3 p.m. at an office park on Chatham Parkway, near the federal court building. The post also said that a bomb would detonate seven minutes before Maghrib, afternoon prayers, inside the Islamic Center of Savannah.
According to the U.S. Justice Department, the threat resulted in evacuations of the office park and caused emergency responses from multiple agencies including the U.S. Marshals Service, the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), the Savannah Police Department, and the Chatham County Sheriff’s Office.
An investigation ultimately determined the threat was a hoax.
This sentencing follows a plea agreement five months prior in which Afaneh pled guilty to making the threat. He faced a possible five-year prison sentence and three years' supervised release upon completion of any prison term.
Afaneh was located and arrested on state charges in Louisville, Kentucky, and placed in the custody of the U.S. Marshals after a hearing in federal court in the Western District of Kentucky.