Queens District Attorney Melinda Katz announced on Thursday that a Texas man was charged with making death threats against New York City mayoral candidate Zohran Mamdani.

Jeremy Fistel, a 44-year-old man from Plano, Texas, was indicted by a grand jury on September 4. He was arrested in Texas on September 11 and extradited to Queens six days later. Katz alleged:

[T]he defendant threatened an elected official by leaving a series of increasingly alarming anti-Muslim voicemail and written messages to the office of Assemblyman Zohran Mamdani. The defendant told the assemblyman to go back to Uganda before someone shoots him in the head, to keep an eye on his house and family, to watch his back every second until he leaves America, and that he and his relatives deserve to die.

The indictment charges him with 22 counts of terroristic threats and aggravated harassment for messages sent during June and July 2025. Fistel may face up to 15 years in prison. Fistel’s trial is set to start on November 19.

Mandani’s campaign said in a statement after Fistal’s arraignment:

We are grateful to District Attorney Katz’s office for treating this matter with the seriousness it deserves. Unfortunately, threats of this nature are all too common and they reflect a broader climate of hate that has no place in our city. We are thankful for the security measures in place for both the Assembly Office and the campaign, and we want to reassure the community that Zohran and the team are safe.

Mandani is a Muslim American who joined the New York State Assembly in 2021, representing the 36th district located in Queens. He was thrust into the national spotlight when he won the Democratic primary for New York City’s mayoral race after rival Andrew Cuomo conceded the race. He has become controversial for his democratic socialist policies.