Man Sentenced for Threatening Illinois Mosque

In 2010, Ilya Sobolevskiy, a 25-year-old resident of Maryland sent an email to a member of the Central Illinois Mosque and Islamic Center (CIMIC), in which he threatened, among other things, that he would “do WHATEVER it takes to eradicate Islam.” Officials at CIMIC reported the threat to the FBI, which referred the case to the department’s Civil Rights Division. The case was investigated by the Springfield, Ill., division of the FBI. The suspect entered a guilty plea in August 2010, admitting the act. On November 3, 2010, Sobolevskiy was sentenced to serve 12 months in prison. He was also told to pay a $3,000 fine for violating the civil rights of members of the Urbana, Ill., mosque
Assistant Attorney General Thomas E. Perez of the Civil Rights Division made the statemente: “One of our most basic rights is the freedom to practice one’s faith in peace,” “We have no tolerance for threats of violence fueled by bigotry, and we will aggressively prosecute such actions.”
Stuart R. McArthur, Special Agent in Charge of the FBI Springfield Office stated “It is a top priority of the FBI to protect the civil rights of the American people. We encourage members of the community to report all allegations of civil rights violations."
Federal Magistrate Judge David G. Bernthal called the crime as “an act of terror” and gave the defendant the maximum sentence permitted by law.

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