Juan M. Thompson facts for kids

Juan M. Thompson (born around 1985) was an American former journalist. He later faced legal issues for online harassment and making false reports to community centers in the U.S.

About Juan M. Thompson

Juan M. Thompson grew up in St. Louis, Missouri. He went to Vassar College in Poughkeepsie, New York. While there, he worked with the student newspaper. However, he did not finish his degree. He also had internships at DNAinfo Chicago and a radio talk show called WBEZ.

In November 2016, Thompson shared his plans to run for mayor of St. Louis. But his online fundraising campaign did not collect much money. He only received $25 from one person.

After His Journalism Job

After Juan Thompson left his job at The Intercept, a reporter from The Riverfront Times wrote about problems with his past work. This led to Thompson causing trouble for the reporter online. His online accounts were later closed by investigators.

On July 7, 2016, Thompson wrote a long essay. In it, he complained about what he called "the white New York media." He also said that The Intercept had tried to make him look bad. In 2017, he worked for a short time at the Gateway Housing Foundation. This is a small group in St. Louis that helps people without homes. The foundation stated that Thompson no longer worked for them before the false reports were made.

Online Harassment and False Reports

Officials said that Thompson made many false reports by phone and email. He often used his ex-girlfriend's name to try and blame her. Thompson also made at least one report using his own name. He pretended that his ex-girlfriend was trying to frame him. He also emailed the Anti-Defamation League in February 2017. In that email, he pointed to his ex-girlfriend as the person making all the false reports.

In March 2017, the FBI arrested Thompson in St. Louis. He was accused of making false reports to at least eight Jewish community centers. He was also charged with online harassment. He was taken to New York and appeared in court on March 29. His lawyer did not ask for him to be released on bail.

On April 10, Thompson said he was not guilty of the online harassment charge. He was set to return to court on May 18. On June 13, Thompson changed his plea to guilty. He admitted to one count of online harassment and one count of sending false reports to Jewish community centers.