COLUMBUS, Ohio — A Reynoldsburg man who threatened to blow up a reproductive health clinic in Columbus was arrested on Thursday.
A federal grand jury indicted 33-year-old Mohamed Farah Waes on July 11.
The U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Ohio said the indictment alleges Waes called the Planned Parenthood of Greater Ohio in July 2022, threatening to burn down the facility and everyone inside it.
Waes was charged with violating the Freedom of Access to Clinic Entrances Act, which makes it a federal crime to threaten the use of force to intimidate anyone receiving or providing reproductive health care. He is also charged with making threatening statements through interstate communications and threatening to unlawfully damage and destroy a building by means of fire and explosive. Both federal crimes are punishable by a combined 15 years in prison.
“Threatening the life of anyone who seeks any type of health service is a heinous act that is unacceptable in a civilized society,” said U.S. Attorney Kenneth Parker. “People must handle their disagreements with services provided by clinics in a more civil way than using the threat of force or any kind of intimidation.”
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