A North Carolina man has been sentenced to the maximum five years in federal prison for sending antisemitic threats to Georgia’s only Jewish State House Representative and a Macon rabbi. Ariel E. Collazo Ramos, 32, of High Point, North Carolina, was convicted of mailing threatening communications with a hate crime enhancement after a two-day trial before U.S. District Judge Marc Treadwell.
Ramos was found guilty on November 4, 2025, and sentenced on February 4 to serve 60 months in prison followed by three years of supervised release. There is no parole in the federal system.
“Let me be clear: individuals like this defendant will face federal prosecution for criminal acts driven by hatred,” said U.S. Attorney William R. “Will” Keyes. “This case underscores that crimes rooted in antisemitism and any hate crime against race, religion, or protected groups, will be prioritized. Law enforcement stands with the Macon community to unite against hatred, and we will use the justice system to hold offenders accountable."
"Hate has no place in our society," said FBI Atlanta Supervisory Senior Resident Agent (SSRA) Robert Gibbs of the Macon Resident Agency. "Today's sentencing of neo-Nazi Ariel Ramos reinforces the FBI's unwavering commitment to protecting civil rights and sends a clear message that threats based on faith or identity will not be tolerated."
Court records show that in 2023, a neo-Nazi group gathered outside Temple Beth Israel in Macon while congregants were inside for Sabbath services. In January 2024, Rabbi Elizabeth Bahar testified before the Georgia Senate Judiciary Committee in support of House Bill 30—the state’s first legislation defining antisemitism—which was co-sponsored by State Representative Esther Panitch, Georgia’s only Jewish member of the House. The bill was signed into law on January 31, 2024.
On the morning of the bill signing, Rep. Panitch received an antisemitic postcard from Ramos at her home; Rabbi Bahar received a similar postcard from Ramos at her residence the following day. Both postcards included handwritten messages referencing Nazi imagery and slogans as well as offensive drawings targeting Jews.
At trial, both recipients described steps they took for their safety after receiving these threats and recounted family members who were murdered during the Holocaust using Zyklon B—the chemical referenced by Ramos in his messages.
At the time he sent these threats from North Carolina, Ramos operated an online business selling products depicting racist and white nationalist themes out of his home.
The FBI led the investigation into this case. Prosecution was handled by U.S. Attorney Will Keyes with assistance from the Civil Rights Division’s Criminal Section.
