California man sentenced after threatening Triangle-area synagogues, officials say

A California man was sentenced in federal court Thursday for antisemitic and violent threats he made against public officials, synagogues and law enforcement in Raleigh and Durham.

Kevin Day Dunlow, 62, of Huntington Beach pleaded guilty in January to two counts of transmitting a threat in interstate commerce in exchange for the dismissal of four other charges, according to court records. He was sentenced Thursday to three years of supervised release, including six months of home detention, sentencing documents show.

Beginning in June 2022, Dunlow made the following threats, according to court documents:

• June 21, 2022 — Called the Hertford County Sheriff’s Office threatening to kill someone.
• May 1, 2024, 2:33 p.m. — Called the Wake County Sheriff’s Office non-emergency line and threatened to kill a public official’s two children, saying he was targeting “Jewish freemason terrorists.”
• May 1, 2024, 2:42 p.m. — Called the Wake County Sheriff’s Office non-emergency line and said he was targeting synagogues and had placed a bomb in the sheriff’s office.
• May 7, 2024, unspecified time — Called the North Carolina Attorney General’s Office saying he was going to kill the three children of a public official.
• May 7, 2024, 3:58 p.m. — Called an employee at Beth El Synagogue in Durham and threatened to kill Jewish children.
• May 8, 2024, 4:30 p.m. — Texted a Durham Police Department detective threatening his family and children.
• May 10, 2024, 6:50 p.m. — Called Temple Beth Or Synagogue in Raleigh and threatened to kill all Jews and children there.
• May 14, 2024, to May 17, 2024 — Called Mercy Church in Ahoskie threatening to kill someone and saying he’d placed an explosive device at the church.

Dunlow, who had a lengthy criminal history of serious assaults and other charges, was arrested May 24, 2024, and has remained in custody since. Court records indicate he lived in Eastern North Carolina for decades and moved to California in 2018.

In a letter to the editor published in April 2016 by the Roanoke-Chowan News-Herald, Dunlow said he was a native of Bertie and Hertford counties who was fleeing the state because of perceived persecution over his marijuana use to treat cancer.

Daniel P. Bubar, the acting U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of North Carolina, said in a written statement that he was grateful for the FBI’s quick response to Dunlow’s threats.

“Threats of violence against the Jewish community and law enforcement officials are not only despicable, they are also a grave federal crime that we take seriously,” Bubar wrote.

This story was originally published June 13, 2025 at 1:38 PM.

Lexi Solomon

The News & Observer

Lexi Solomon joined The News & Observer in August 2024 as the emerging news reporter. She previously worked in Fayetteville at The Fayetteville Observer and CityView, reporting on crime, education and local government. She is a 2022 graduate of Virginia Tech with degrees in Russian and National Security & Foreign Affairs.