COLUMBUS, Ohio (WCMH) — A federal grand jury has indicted a Reynoldsburg man for threatening to burn down a Planned Parenthood clinic, the U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of Ohio’s Office announced.
Attorney Kenneth Parker said authorities took 33-year-old Mohamed Waes into custody Thursday after the July 11 indictment. The case stems from phone calls Waes made to a call center employee on July 5, 2022. Court documents said the call center transferred incoming calls to a Planned Parenthood of Greater Ohio clinic, and during the calls, Waes told the employee he would burn down the clinic with everyone inside.
The indictment charges Waes with the following:
- Violating the Freedom of Access to Clinic Entrances Act, which makes use of force to intimidate anyone receiving or providing reproductive health services a federal crime
- Making threatening statements through interstate communications
- Threatening to unlawfully damage and destroy a building by means of fire and explosives
If convicted, Waes could face up to 15 years in prison for the charges of threatening statements and threatening to destroy a building. Parker did not list a possible sentence for the charge of violating the FACE Act.
In 2012, Waes was also accused of cheating at baccarat at Hollywood Casino. He told The Associated Press that he went there to celebrate a friend’s birthday and that he didn’t understand the game.
“I didn’t even know what was going on. I think morally gambling is wrong. It was just a spontaneous thing. My friends were all just doing it — I just joined,” Waes told the AP. “I didn’t even think I did anything wrong”
Waes was sentenced to nine days in jail by a Franklin County judge and fined for that case, court records showed.
