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New Jersey man with a history of sending hate mail was arrested on November 15th for allegedly mailing an antisemitic cartoon to a White Plains real estate firm. Nikolay Levinson, 41, faces two counts of mailing threatening communication in U.S. District Court, White Plains. He waived detention.
Levinson's conduct is part of a pattern that began at least in March 2014, according to prosecutors. However, understanding his motivations is complex due to his Jewish heritage and family history of escaping antisemitism. His father is Jewish, and the family left the Soviet Union when Levinson was seven. He lived in Israel for four years and speaks Hebrew.
In October, a White Plains real estate broker and a colleague's father received identical cartoons depicting a black man pointing a gun at a white man wearing a yarmulke. The caption read "NIGGERS, JEWS … BAD NEWS!" Investigators linked Levinson to the victims through text messages he exchanged after inquiring about a property.
Levinson has a history of sending hate mail, including racist and antisemitic letters while working as a corrections officer in Maryland in 2014. He was detained pending trial in New Jersey. In 2017, he was convicted of making terroristic threats and stalking, sentenced to time served, but resumed sending hate mail after release.
Even while in prison, Levinson got another inmate to send letters containing Nazi symbols to businesses in New York and New Jersey. After his release from prison in 2022, he sent threatening messages to a jewelry store, a law firm, and other victims. He was arrested again and sentenced to 26 months in prison.
Levinson's defense attorney stated that he is confused by what prompts him to send hate mail, which has resulted in eight years of imprisonment over the last decade. His only hope for change is mental health treatment, according to his lawyer. Prosecutors acknowledge that Levinson's behavior is not deterred by imprisonment but agree it protects the public and prevents him from instilling fear in the community.
