Florida man, Dustin Allen Hughes, pleads guilty to threatening to blow up a mosque
A Cutler Bay, Florida man who threatened to detonate a bomb at a mosque in Pembroke Pines, Florida pleaded guilty last week of the hate crime in the Southern District of Florida, the Justice Department announced.
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During the plea hearing, 26-year-old Dustin Allen Hughes admitted that on May 5, he called an emergency contact for the Jamaat Ul Muttaqeen Mosque of Pembroke Pines, Florida, and left a hate-filled and profanity-laden voicemail message denigrating Islam and threatening to blow up the mosque. Hughes further admitted that in his message he specifically stated that he had a detonator, that he was “going to blow your . . . temple up,” and that “you guys are all going to be up in flames after I’m done with you.”
“The Justice Department will not tolerate threats of hate violence, which threaten an entire community’s sense of safety and security,” said Acting Assistant Attorney General John Gore. “The Justice Department will continue to vigorously prosecute hate crimes so that all people, no matter how they worship, can live their lives freely and without fear.”
“Freedom of religion is a fundamental right for every American,” said Robert F. Lasky, Special Agent in Charge of the FBI Miami Field Office.
Sentencing is scheduled for Sept. 6. Hughes faces a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison.
