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Mark Lucian Feigin, a 40-year-old man from Agoura, was arrested last week on suspicion of making threatening phone calls to the Islamic Center of Southern California, reports NBC 4.
LAPD Commander Horace Frank of the Counter Terrorism and Special Operations Bureau said at a Tuesday press conference that Feigin had called the center on September 19 and left a hateful and derogatory voicemail. The next day, he called again to say that he would kill people at the center.
LAPD detectives serched Feigin's home after they were informed about the threats. At his residence, investigators found numerous rifles, handguns, modified high-capacity magazines, and thousands of rounds of ammunition. Frank said that some of the weapons were registered to the suspect, while some were not.
Feigin was brought into custody on October 19 and was charged with making criminal threats. He later bailed out. When asked if residents should be concerned that Feigin has been released, Frank said, "I can assure you that we're going to take all the appropriate measures to keep the community safe." According to authorities the attorney general's office has pressed charges against Feigin.
Omar Ricci, a spokesperson for the Islamic Center of Southern California, said at the conference that, upon learning about the guns, he was concerned about a "Columbine-type event."
"He could have very easily barged into our facility where the innocent parishioners are," said Ricci. "The worst comes to mind." The center says that it has enhanced security at the building, and that it has obtained a restraining order against Feigin.
In an inter-faith conference that was held on Tuesday afternoon at the Islamic Center, several community leaders came out to denounce the threats made by Feigin. Rosa Russell, president of the City of Los Angeles Human Relations Commission, pleaded with the city to "take concrete steps to solidifying our strength, to be united, and to reject all forms of hate and crime."
Unfortunately, Feigin's threats are not unheard of in Southern California. In August, the Orange County Human Relations Commission released a report saying that 2015 saw a three-fold increase in hate crimes against Muslims in Orange County. And, in September, the Los Angeles County Commission on Human Relations reported that hate crimes against African Americans, Latinos, Jews and transgender women saw a major spike in 2015. When LAist spoke to sources about each report, they said that the problems may be tied to the heated rhetoric that has been so prevalent during this election period.
