Myrtle Beach man sends hate messages to reporter, threatens to kill her & family, FBI says
A Myrtle Beach man was arrested Friday by the FBI for making hate-based threats to a news reporter, threatening to kill her and her family.
Austin Suman, 35, is accused of making a series of violent and hate-based threats over Facebook on Nov. 8, 2024, to the New York reporter after he was upset for her reporting of his arrest, a FBI news release said.
“Austin Suman allegedly made numerous threats and ethnic slurs to a local news reporter to file a personal grievance against her for her previous reporting of his prior arrest,” FBI Assistant Director in Charge James E. Dennehy said the release. “His alleged threats to inflict significant harm with firearms and explosives were delivered with intimidation and prejudice. Hiding behind a screen will not prevent the FBI’s pursuit of those who target others with hateful messages of violence and death.”
Suman sent messages that said “I will end your family,” and also threatened to blow up the victim’s home, the release said.
Suman repeated ethnic slurs against people of Hispanic, Latin American or Spanish descent, saying the messages, “[D]umb Mexican” and “We are going to deport your family all of them,” the release said.
Suman is charged with threatening interstate communications, which carries a maximum sentence of five years in prison; willfully making a threat involving explosives, which carries a maximum sentence of 10 years in prison; and interstate stalking, which carries a maximum sentence of five years in prison.
Suman will be transferred to the Southern District of New York to appear in federal court.
