A shocking online call to “attack” a New York City public high school with Jewish students triggered felony charges—and revived questions about radicalization linked to progressive politics.
NYPD Arrest and Charges Tied to Online Call for School “Attack”
NYPD arrested 27-year-old Iman Abdul in Brooklyn after a widely circulated Instagram story allegedly urged followers to “attack” Leon M. Goldstein High School for the Sciences, a public school she framed as attended by “Zionists.” Police confirmed multiple charges, including making a terroristic threat, aggravated harassment, endangering the welfare of a child, and making a threat of mass harm. The post reportedly included a Google Maps screenshot of the school and inflammatory captions referencing Jewish students.
Authorities said the threat report came in Thursday afternoon; officers arrested Abdul on Friday at her home. The case advances amid intensified scrutiny of social-media-origin threats against K–12 campuses, especially those invoking antisemitic tropes. Advocacy accounts that archived screenshots pressed for enforcement, adding urgency to the police response. Abdul’s attorney initially declined comment, and formal court proceedings are expected to determine how prosecutors apply New York’s terroristic threat statutes in a school context.
Disputed Political Link: What AOC’s Campaign Says vs. Media Descriptions
Coverage diverged on Abdul’s political past. Some outlets described her as a former youth organizer or campaign worker in Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez’s 2018 primary, while AOC’s campaign issued a categorical statement denying she was ever staff and condemning the threats as appalling. Without payroll records or verified volunteer rosters, the affiliation characterization remains contested. For accuracy, the most authoritative position on staffing is the campaign’s own denial, even as other reports allege informal volunteer activity.
The friction over labels matters because it shapes public accountability narratives. If an individual only volunteered informally, attributing official campaign status can overstate institutional association. Conversely, if documentation later shows defined campaign roles, that would recalibrate public understanding. Until records surface, the responsible framing is “disputed affiliation” paired with clear attribution of claims. The core, undisputed facts are the arrest, the charges, and the alleged call to target a school community with Jewish students.
Context: Rising Antisemitic Incitement and School Safety Protocols
New York City has faced heightened antisemitic tensions since late 2023, with civil rights probes and campus flashpoints foreshadowing episodes of harassment and threats against Jewish institutions. Law enforcement typically invokes aggravated harassment and terroristic threat statutes when credible threats target schools, given the presence of minors. In this case, advocacy monitors argue decisive enforcement deters escalation. The rapid NYPD action and multi-count charging align with prevailing safety recommendations and established prosecutorial patterns for digital threats.
The Instagram post’s rhetoric included a claim that students had “all” gone on Birthright—a program restricted to Jewish young adults 18 and older—undercutting the post’s credibility and underscoring the reckless spread of misinformation to justify targeting minors. Regardless, prosecutors do not need factual accuracy about the victims’ backgrounds to pursue charges when a post directs followers to attack a specific school. The school community’s immediate need is security assurance, while courts examine intent, imminence, and disruption to public services.
What This Means for Law, Order, and Community Standards
Short term, the case will likely drive enhanced security and monitoring at Leon M. Goldstein High School and similar campuses perceived as Jewish-associated. Parents and staff are looking for visible deterrence, rapid threat assessment, and clear communication from district officials. Longer term, charging online calls to attack schools as terroristic threats could set practical precedent for policing digital incitement, reinforcing that speech directing violence at minors and schools crosses a prosecutable line regardless of platform ephemerality.
Conservatives concerned about constitutional order and community safety see a clarifying test: equal application of the law against those who incite hatred and threaten children—without euphemism or selective enforcement. The political debate over Abdul’s campaign ties should not obscure the central issue: deterring antisemitic intimidation and protecting students. As the case proceeds, official records will clarify disputed affiliations, but the imperative remains constant—defend the schoolhouse, enforce the law, and reject ideologies that target American kids.
Sources:
Ex-AOC organizer urges followers to ‘attack’ school with Jewish students, arrested by NYPD
Instagram post with screenshots and context (archival/advocacy)
Former AOC campaign worker charged over threat targeting Jewish students
Former AOC youth organizer arrested for threatening Jewish high school students
In NYC, the perp will probably get a reward from the city