ORLANDO, Fla. – A Jordanian man living in Orlando has been accused of threatening to blow up several locations in the city, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office.
In a news release, officials said the man — Hashem Younis Hashem Hnaihen, 43 — targeted businesses in Orlando over their perceived support for Israel.
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In June, Hnaihen would don a mask and go out to these businesses at night, smashing their glass front doors and leaving behind “Warning Letters,” the release shows.
Each of the letters left at the scene threatened that Hnaihen would “explode everything here in whole America — especially the companies and factories that support the racist state of Israel,” court records state. The letters also laid out a series of political demands.
The dates and locations of these attacks were as follows:
- June 25 — Starbucks in Orlando
- June 25 — Starbucks in Winter Park
- June 25 — McDonald’s in Maitland
- June 29 — A solar power generation facility in Wedgefield
According to the release, Hnaihen’s attack on the Wedgefield plant lasted hours, with Hnaihen “systematically destroying” the solar panel arrays.
“He smashed panels, cut wires, and targeted critical electronic equipment,” the release reads.
Hnaihen then left two more copies of his demand letter at the scene, and he’s believed to be responsible for more than $700,000 in damage, the U.S. Attorney’s Office announced.
Investigators eventually identified and arrested Hnaihen on July 11 after another “Warning Letter” was found at an industrial propane gas distribution depot in Orlando.
“We allege that the defendant threatened to carry out hate-fueled mass violence in our country, motivated in part by a desire to target businesses for their perceived support of Israel,” Attorney General Merrick Garland said. “Such acts and threats of violence, whether they are targeting the places that Americans frequent every day or our country’s critical infrastructure, are extremely dangerous and will not be tolerated by the Justice Department.”
Hnaihen was formally indicted last week, and his indictment was returned on Thursday. He has been charged with destruction of an energy facility and four counts of threatening to use explosives.
If convicted on all counts, Hnaihen faces up to 60 years in prison.
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