Texas Man Is Charged With Making Threats Against Mamdani

A Texas man was charged in Queens on Thursday with threatening Zohran Mamdani, the Democratic nominee for New York City mayor, according to a law enforcement official with knowledge of the case.

The man, Jeremy Fistel, 44, was extradited from Plano, Texas, by New York police officers and brought to the city on Wednesday to face charges of making a terroristic threat and aggravated harassment, according to the official, who was not authorized to discuss the case and asked for anonymity.

The law enforcement official said that the charges were the result of threats made in June, when Mr. Mamdani’s campaign said he received a string of profane voice mail messages at his district office in Queens.

In one, the man called Mr. Mamdani, who would be New York City’s first Muslim mayor if elected, a “terrorist” who was “not welcome in New York or America,” according to audio provided by the campaign. The caller said he should be careful starting a car.

Andrew Epstein, a spokesman for Mr. Mamdani, said at the time that the campaign was cooperating with the New York Police Department’s Hate Crimes Task Force.

The charges against Mr. Fistel come during an extraordinarily tense time for elected officials and public figures in the United States, where political violence has skyrocketed in recent years.

Just over a week ago, Charlie Kirk, a conservative activist, was shot dead during a public event in Utah, and in June, Melissa Hortman, a Democratic state legislator in Minnesota, was assassinated along with her husband inside her home.

Mr. Mamdani, a state assemblyman from Queens, is the clear front-runner in what has been a particularly high-profile New York City mayoral race. Candidates in the city have always been expected to interact intimately with voters, and Mr. Mamdani has predicated his campaign on spontaneous encounters. Tighter security could change the nature of this race, and races to come.

Mr. Mamdani said in an interview with The New York Times on Sept. 11 that he had received new threats on his life since Mr. Kirk’s killing, which had occurred just a day earlier.

Mr. Mamdani said he was frightened for his staff and the people close to him, including the security officials assigned to guard him. But he also expressed resolve and said he would carry on in spite of the potential danger.

“It won’t change how I campaign,” Mr. Mamdani said. “It won’t change how I move through the city that I love.”

This is a developing story and will be updated.