Pennsylvania man faces ethnic intimidation charges over alleged threats to Black sheriff
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Investigators say two racially charged voicemails targeted Delaware County Sheriff Siddiq Kamara, a Black Muslim public official.
A Pennsylvania man is facing serious charges after allegedly leaving a pair of racist, violent voicemails targeting Delaware County (Pa.) Sheriff Siddiq Kamara, a Black Muslim official, in a case authorities are treating as ethnic intimidation.
According to NBC Philadelphia, the Delaware County Sheriff’s Office received the first voicemail late on July 18, in which a man declared “Death to Islam” and warned Kamara, “I will find you. I will break you.” Minutes later, a second message arrived from the same caller, escalating into a graphic, racially charged death threat laced with a slur and a promise of violence.
Investigators with the Delaware County Criminal Investigation Division identified the man behind the messages as 40-year-old Sean Keenan of Havertown, the outlet reported, noting he had also placed multiple calls from his personal and work phones.
Keenan was arrested Tuesday and charged with terroristic threats, ethnic intimidation, harassment and disorderly conduct, with bail set at $100,000 unsecured and a preliminary hearing scheduled for Aug. 7.
Delaware County District Attorney Tanner Rouse condemned the messages in unsparing terms. “The words used in the voicemails to Sheriff Kamara were vile, disgusting, and completely unacceptable,” he said, per NBC Philadelphia. Rouse stressed that “racially motivated violence” has “no place in Delaware County, regardless of who the intended victim may be,” pledging that every threat would be fully investigated and prosecuted.
Keenan’s attorney, Michael Dugan, offered a starkly different account. In a statement, Dugan argued his client never intentionally targeted Kamara, claiming Keenan’s wife had received a threatening scam call from someone with personal information about their family.
When Keenan returned the call, Dugan said, the Delaware County Sheriff’s Office number appeared on the caller ID, leading his client to believe he was responding to the person who had threatened his wife.
“We understand why Sheriff Kamara found the voicemail offensive,” Dugan wrote, but maintained “this case ultimately turns on intent,” describing it as “a misdirected voicemail resulting from a scam call.”
The case now heads toward a courtroom, where, as Keenan’s counsel put it, the facts and evidence rather than public narrative will ultimately shape the outcome. For Kamara, the threats represent a chilling reminder of the hostility public officials of color continue to face.