(JEWISH GROUP) Neo-Nazi Guilty of Hate Crimes Targeting Georgia Rabbi, State House Rep.

U.S. Attorney William R. “Will” Keyes this month tried and won a hate crime conviction against a neo-Nazi who mailed separate antisemitic threats from North Carolina to Georgia’s only Jewish State House Representative and Temple Beth Israel’s Rabbi after both women publicly supported the passage of Georgia House Bill 30, the state’s first legislation defining antisemitism.

Ariel E. Collazo Ramos, 32, of High Point, North Carolina, was found guilty of one count of mailing threatening communications with the addition of a hate crime enhancement on Nov. 4, following a two-day trial that began on Nov. 3, before U.S. District Judge Marc Treadwell. The defendant faces a maximum of five years in prison to be followed by three years of supervised release and a $250,000 fine. Sentencing is scheduled for 9:30 a.m. on Jan. 8, 2026. There is no parole in the federal system.

“The defendant was not exercising his free speech when he mailed antisemitic postcards to Rabbi Elizabeth Bahar and Georgia House Representative Esther Panitch—this neo-Nazi delivered a true threat to life and liberty,” said U.S. Attorney William R. “Will” Keyes. “Antisemitic threats and all threats made against the federally protected freedoms of our citizens will not be tolerated in the Middle District of Georgia. We will utilize the full power of the federal government to protect our civil rights.”

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At the time, Ramos sold candles, postcards and other products depicting racial, antisemitic and white nationalist themes through his at-home business, “Patriot Candle Company.” Ramos mailed a threatening postcard to Rabbi Bahar’s home address from North Carolina. The postcard contained the handwritten statement, "Is there a child rape, torture, and murder tunnel under your house? We have the Zyklon B. Use Code ‘GASTHEJEWS’ for 10% off!" The reverse side of the postcard displayed a hand-drawn image depicting a purported Jewish male wearing a rat costume and the words “JEWS ARE RATS.” Rep. Panitch received an identical postcard to her home address. Both Rabbi Bahar and Rep. Panitch testified at trial the steps they took for their own safety in response to receiving the threatening postcards. Rabbi Bahar and Rep. Panitch had family members murdered by Nazis using Zyklon B during the Holocaust.

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Emphasis added.