4 years’ prison for Florida man for mosque bomb threat

FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. – A Florida man has been sentenced to four years in federal prison for phoning bomb threats to a mosque.

Court records show a Miami judge imposed the sentence Thursday on 26-year-old Dustin Hughes. He previously pleaded guilty to the hate crime of obstructing free exercise of religious beliefs.

Federal prosecutors say four threatening voicemail messages were left in May by Hughes at the Jamaat ul Muttaqeen Mosque in Pembroke Pines, Florida.

The voicemails were laced with profanity and said things such as, “I planted a bomb in your temple. … You guys are all gonna be up in flames after I’m done with you!”

Prosecutors say Hughes told the FBI after his arrest that he left the messages because he wanted to “cause a big scare” and upset Muslims.