Chatham County Man Pleads Guilty, Faces Five-Year Sentence for Bomb Threat

Mohammed Arafat Afaneh, 28, of Savannah, Georgia, is facing a potential five-year prison sentence after pleading guilty to charges related to making a bomb threat. Afaneh pleaded guilty to False Information and Hoaxes, as announced by Jill E. Steinberg, U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of Georgia. The guilty plea exposes Afaneh to a maximum sentence of five years in federal prison, substantial financial penalties, and up to three years of supervised release upon completing any prison term. There is no parole in the federal system.

On November 17, 2023, Afaneh posted a message on Facebook and Instagram claiming a bomb was set to detonate at 3 p.m. in the WTOC Center on Chatham Parkway, which houses a federal courthouse and a television station. The message also mentioned that the bomb was in an employee’s trunk and included a plea for help. The post prompted evacuations and emergency responses from multiple agencies, including the U.S. Marshals Service, the FBI, the Savannah Police Department, and the Chatham County Sheriff’s Office. Investigators later confirmed the threat was a hoax.

Afaneh was arrested in Louisville, Kentucky, on unrelated state charges and was subsequently transferred to the custody of U.S. Marshals.

FBI Atlanta Assistant Special Agent in Charge Brian Ozden stated, “We will not normalize violent threats in America, whether targeting businesses, federal courthouses, or average citizens. The FBI will pursue to the fullest extent of the law anyone who threatens violence.”

The investigation was conducted by the FBI, with prosecution led by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Darron J. Hubbard and L. Alexander Hamner.