Second Missouri Man Accused of Making Bomb Threats to Jewish Centers
For Jewish communities around the county, the beginning of 2017 was marked by a terrifying spree of bomb threats directed at synagogues and community centers. One Missouri man has already pleaded guilty to his role in some of those incidents — disgraced former journalist Juan Thompson. Now a second Missouri man has been linked to a more recent spate of anti-Semitic threats.
According to a federal indictment unsealed last week, 25-year-old Ford Kevin Coots is target of an FBI investigation into several bomb threats directed at Jews this past summer. On November 15, FBI agents showed up at Coots' home in rural Urich, Missouri, with a search warrant — and Coots allegedly used a shovel to slap a gun out of an agent's hand and stuck another in the chest.
The encounter was tense, to say the least. While attacking the agents, "Coots reached for, and grabbed, a bottle containing an unknown liquid substance with what appeared to be a fuse attached," the indictment reads. "The special agents told Coots to drop the bottle or they would shoot him. Coots responded by telling the agents to 'just shoot and kill him.'"
Coots did not get his wish, as the agents were eventually able to subdue him with pepper spray and handcuffs.
Read more: https://www.riverfronttimes.com/newsblog/2017/12/04/second-missouri-man-accused-of-making-bomb-threats-to-jewish-centers