Jeremy Fistel accused of racist death threats against Zohran Mamdani, is busted in Texas on hate charges

A Texas bigot was hauled to the Big Apple to face charges Thursday for making chilling death threats against mayoral frontrunner Zohran Mamdani, authorities said.

Jeremy Fistel, 44, kept mum as he walked out of Queens Supreme Court to a scrum of reporters after his family posted the $30,000 cash bail set by Judge Michelle Johnson at his arraignment.

Fistel faces a 22-count indictment accusing him of bombarding Mamdani with a slew of vile, threatening voicemails left at the Democratic nominee’s state Assembly office in Queens.

“You’re a terrorist piece of s–t, and you’re not welcome in New York or in America, neither is your f–king family so they should get the f–k out,” one of the messages, left on June 17 and obtained by The Post, said.

Another one of the missives, which came from an untraceable number in June and July, threatened to blow up Mamdani’s car, authorities said.

“Go start your car and see what happens. I’d keep an eye on your house and family. Watch your f–king back every f–king second until you get the f–k out of America,” the message said. 

“Nobody wants your terrorist ways here. And check your beeper, too, you terrorist f–k,” the message continued, apparently referring to Israel’s pager attacks against Hezbollah. “Beep beep.”

Fistel was taken into custody in Plano, Tx., last week and extradited to New York City on hate crime and terroristic-threat charges, authorities and sources said.

“If this is about phone calls, I just won’t make any anymore,” he told authorities when they confronted him about the threats outside his home, Assistant District Attorney Christina Mavrikis said in court.

Fistel told the cops he had “no interest” in returning with them to New York City to face charges, Mavrikis said.

“That place is like an alcoholic that has hit rock bottom,” he allegedly told police.

He spent seven days in jail in the Lone Star State before he was extradited.

Authorities said a staffer at the Queens assemblyman’s office had reported the voicemail threats to police on June 18, but the hateful messages continued for more than another month.

On July 8, Fistel allegedly left a missive on Mamdani’s website saying he’d “love to see an IDF bullet go through your skull” and that “it would “be even better if you had to watch your wife and kids murdered in front [of] you.”

On July 23, the sicko again repeated his desire to see Mamdani shot, writing, “All you and your Muslim f–k loser friends and relatives and family and wife and kids deserve to die.” 

Mamdani is a Muslim US citizen who was born in Uganda and grew up on the Upper West Side.

In a previous message on June 11, the creepy caller warned that Mamdani should go back to Uganda before someone shoots him in the head and “gets rid” of his family.

“You are not compatible with our Western values,” the vile voicemail said. “So stop spewing your antisemitic rhetoric and get the f–k out of America.”

Fistel, who was silent as he appeared before the judge, wearing a black hoodie and blue jeans, entered a not-guilty plea through his lawyer to the slew of charges against him.

His defense attorney, Todd Greenberg, told the court he believed the case against his client was “weak” — and argued that while the messages were “unpleasant,” they were still “free speech.”

“In the political arena today, many politicians say things you can’t believe is coming out of their mouth,” Greenberg said.

Fistel’s brother, who lives in Queens, sat in the second row of the courtroom during the hearing. 

His attorney said Fistel was looking forward to going back to Texas, pending his next court appearance on November 19.

The judge also ordered Fistel not to contact Mamdani.

In a statement, a rep for his campaign thanked Queens District Attorney Melinda Katz’s office “for treating this matter with the seriousness it deserves.”

“Unfortunately, threats of this nature are all too common—and they reflect a broader climate of hate that has no place in our city,” the statement said.  “We respect the judicial process and will not be commenting further on the details of the case.”

Fistel has a prior conviction from June 2019 in a federal marijuana trafficking case.

He is charged with four counts of making a terroristic threat as a hate crime, four counts of making a terroristic threat, seven counts of aggravated harassment in the second degree as a hate crime and seven counts of aggravated harassment in the second degree.

Fistel faces up to 15 years in prison if convicted of the top charge.

Fistel was arrested by the NYPD’s Hate Crimes Task Force with the assistance of the US Marshals Service’s regional fugitive task force, who helped bring him to New York.

— Additional reporting by Kyle Schnitzer and Craig McCarthy