A bomb threat was phoned into the Anti-Defamation League Headquarters in Murray Hill. Turns out, it was a hoax. Roseanne Colletti reports.
What to Know
- The threat comes amid a rash of bomb threats targeting Jewish community centers across the country; 10 were evacuated Monday alone
- The ADL says it's working with authorities to determine if the threat it received Wednesday was connected to the others
- Officials say there's nothing to indicate it was any more than a threat
The Anti-Defamation League's national headquarters in New York received a bomb threat Wednesday, and the group says it is working with authorities to determine if it is connected to the rash of threats targeting Jewish community centers across the country in recent months.
The bomb threat to the Third Avenue office was anonymous, according to ADL CEO Jonathan Greenblatt. Greenblatt said while there is nothing to indicate the threat is anything more than that, the group is taking it "very seriously."
The specific nature of the threat wasn't immediately clear. Police say they got a call about it shortly before noon. An investigation found it not credible.
"It's a frightening moment and it reminds us that the haters and the bigots, they hide in the shadows like cowards and they seek to terrorize us because of our faith," Greenblatt said on MSNBC Wednesday. "We will not be deterred and we will not be daunted."
The threat comes two days after 10 Jewish community centers across the country were evacuated in response to bomb threats. In January, another round of bomb threats targeted 53 Jewish community centers across 26 U.S. states and one Canadian province over a period of three days.
The FBI is involved in the investigation, and the ADL has called on U.S. Attorney General Jeff Sessions to launch a coordinated multi-agency probe.
In the wake of the threat to the ADL, Gov. Cuomo called the pattern a "national crisis" and directed the New York State Police to coordinate with federal and local law enforcement in the investigation.
"We are treating these incidents for what they are -- as crimes -- and we will not allow them to go unpunished," Cuomo said in a statement. "Make no mistake, we will find these perpetrators and hold them fully accountable."
President Donald Trump addressed the series of JCC bomb threats for the first time Tuesday, calling them "horrible and painful." The remarks came amid mounting criticism about his silence. Earlier Tuesday, Hillary Clinton called the series of threats and attacks against Jews and Jewish groups "so troubling" in a tweet that urged Trump to speak out against them.
Trump added that the threats were a "very sad reminder of the work that still must be done to root out hate and prejudice and evil."
