Man sentenced to 5 years for antisemitic threats to Georgia lawmaker and Macon rabbi

Prosecutors say the threats followed the passage of Georgia’s first law defining antisemitism.

MACON, Georgia (41NBC/WMGT) — A North Carolina man described by prosecutors as a neo-Nazi has been sentenced to the maximum prison term for sending antisemitic threats to a Georgia lawmaker and a Macon rabbi following the passage of the state’s first law defining antisemitism.

32-year-old Ariel E. Collazo Ramos of High Point, North Carolina, was sentenced Wednesday to 60 months in federal prison, followed by three years of supervised release, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Middle District of Georgia.

Prosecutors said Ramos mailed threatening, antisemitic postcards to State Rep. Esther Panitch, the only Jewish member of the Georgia House of Representatives and to Rabbi Elizabeth Bahar of Temple Beth Israel in Macon. Both women publicly supported House Bill 30, which defines antisemitism under Georgia law and was signed by Gov. Brian Kemp on January 31, 2024.

Ramos was convicted in November 2025 of mailing threatening communications with a hate crime enhancement after a two-day trial.

According to court records, Rep. Panitch received the postcard at her home the morning the bill was signed into law. Rabbi Bahar received a similar postcard the following day. Prosecutors said the messages included explicit antisemitic language, imagery and references to Zyklon B, the chemical used by Nazis during the Holocaust.

Both women testified at trial about the steps they took to protect themselves after receiving the threats. Court documents also said family members of both victims were murdered by Nazis during the Holocaust.

Federal authorities said the threats came amid increased antisemitic activity in Macon, including a 2023 incident in which members of a neo-Nazi group gathered outside Temple Beth Israel during Sabbath services.

“This case underscores that crimes rooted in antisemitism and hate will be prioritized,” U.S. Attorney William R. ‘Will’ Keyes said.

Investigators said Ramos sold white nationalist and antisemitic merchandise from his home and mailed the postcards from North Carolina to Georgia.

The case was investigated by the FBI and prosecuted in federal court with assistance from the Civil Rights Division of the U.S. Department of Justice.