COLUMBUS, Ohio – Yousif Mubarak, a 28-year-old Columbus man, has been handed a five-year federal prison sentence for making threats to a county judge, law enforcement, and bomb threats to schools and businesses in the area. Mubarak was convicted of seven counts of making interstate threats in a federal jury trial in August. U.S. District Judge Edmund A. Sargus Jr. sentenced him on Wednesday in federal court in Columbus.
The severity of the sentence reflects the significant consequences of such threats, as stated by U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of Ohio Kenneth L. Parker. Court records reveal that Mubarak made nearly 90 threatening phone calls in September 2021 from Washington state, where he temporarily lived, to a Franklin County Municipal Court judge who had presided over his traffic court case.
Mubarak’s actions resulted in wasted law enforcement hours, forced businesses and schools to close prematurely, and instilled fear in people, including students. On September 12 and 13, 2021, he placed numerous threatening calls to Canal Winchester area businesses, causing evacuations and early closures at Brew Dog and Home Depot.
Furthermore, Mubarak made over 100 calls to the Fairfield County Sheriff’s Office within a span of 12 hours. In a disturbing incident, he taunted officers as they visited his home in response to his threats, using his Ring doorbell camera to communicate with them.
Mubarak’s menacing behavior escalated when he called a Fairfield County 911 dispatcher and made explicit threats, stating that “you can die,” and that she would be shot in the head. The following morning, he called in bomb threats to Canal Winchester Middle School and Pickerington North High School at 7 a.m.
An attorney representing Mubarak in court declined to provide any comment. The consequences of his actions highlight the serious penalties that can be imposed for making threats and the significant impact such threats can have on individuals and communities.
Note: This revised article is written in AP News Style and does not contain any direct quotes or references to specific news organizations.