Incident details
- Date of incident
- November 15, 2024
- Location
- White Plains, New York
- Targets
- Unidentified reporter 8
A portion of the complaint against Austin Suman, alleging that he sent a series of violent, hate-based threats to a New York reporter on Nov. 8, 2024. Suman was arrested Nov. 15 in South Carolina.
Man sentenced to prison for threatening New York reporter
Austin Suman was sentenced Aug. 1, 2025, to nine months in prison and three years of probation for sending a series of hate-based threats to a reporter in New York’s Hudson Valley.
Suman was arrested in November 2024 and charged in federal court in White Plains in connection with sending Facebook messages and emails to the reporter in retaliation for her coverage of his 2019 arrest, according to court filings.
Suman pleaded guilty in April to a charge of threatening interstate communications, under the terms of a plea agreement. In August, Suman was sentenced on that charge; remaining charges for making a threat involving explosives and interstate stalking were dropped.
In a statement filed by his attorneys before his sentencing, Suman described his distress after reading the reporter’s articles but apologized to her for his messages.
The FBI arrested a man on Nov. 15, 2024, who was allegedly behind a series of hate-based threats against a reporter in New York’s Hudson Valley.
The U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of New York announced that Austin Suman was arrested in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina, after having allegedly made a series of “violent and hate-based threats” to a news reporter in Orange County via Facebook and email a week prior.
“Hiding behind a screen will not prevent the FBI’s pursuit of those who target others with hateful messages of violence and death,” FBI Assistant Director in Charge James Dennehy said.
According to the complaint, Suman targeted the reporter over her coverage of his arrest in 2019 for allegedly threatening his roommate with a gun, which resulted in his firearms being seized.
Suman’s Nov. 8 messages derided the reporter as a “dumb fuckin cunt,” adding “female journalist what a joke.” He repeatedly used an ethnic slur against people of Hispanic, Latin American or Spanish descent, and asserted, “We are going to deport your family all of them.” Suman then bragged about having “more guns than ever,” and threatened to bomb the reporter’s home and to kill her and her family.
Suman was charged with threatening interstate communications, making a threat involving explosives and interstate stalking. His case will be handled in federal court in White Plains, and he faces a maximum of 20 years in prison if convicted.
The U.S. Attorney’s Office said that addressing such aggressions against journalists is a priority.
“The charges against the defendant demonstrate our resolve to work at lightning speed to neutralize threats against the press—which serves a vital role in our democracy,” U.S. Attorney Damian Williams said. “To any individual who dares to cross the line and make hate-based threats against members of our press: you will be found, and you will be held accountable for your actions.”
The U.S. Press Freedom Tracker catalogues press freedom violations in the United States. Email tips to [email protected].
