Authorities say a 26-year-old South Florida man made explosive threats to a South Florida mosque.
Dustin Allen Hughes is now facing a serious felony charge of willfully making a bomb threat by telephone.
According to the Department of Justice, Hughes left a series of voicemails earlier this month in which he threatened to blow up the Jamaat UI Muttaqeen Mosque in Pembroke Pines.
In one of the messages, he is heard saying, “I planted a bomb in your temple. I’m gonna blow your [expletive] temple up, because you guys are a bunch of [expletive] lying, murdering pieces of hypocrite [expletive] that just want to cause mayhem to Americans … I have a bomb strapped in there right now.”
At one point he is heard saying, “You guys are all gonna be up in flames after I’m done with you!”
Mosque leaders immediately called Pembroke Pines Police after hearing the voicemails. Investigators quickly traced the calls back to Hughes and tracked him down.
He was arrested Tuesday at his Miami-Dade residence.
Federal officials said Hughes admitted to leaving the explicit messages. When told his threats caused members of the mosque to be scared, police said he began clapping and said, “Good.”
Hughes could face up to 10 years in prison.
No bomb was found at the mosque.