Said Mapu, “The husband and wife, along with the wife’s elderly parents, hurried back to their car and quickly drove away. And the seller went inside to calm his upset family.” And the following day, according to Mapu, the buyers cancelled the closing on the house.

During the incident, one of the realtors present had called 911. Local authorities quickly responded, but by the time they arrived, Howard had already returned to his own home. In the days that followed, Howard recounted his version of what happened to other neighbors.

But that wasn’t the end. Allegations made their way to the U.S. Attorney’s Office in the Middle District of Florida, and the FBI began looking into the incident.

Original FBI Tampa case agent Maritza Conde-Vazquez, since reassigned to the Bureau’s Civil Rights Unit in Washington, D.C., said, “It appeared that both buyers and sellers were considered victims under the Fair Housing part of the Civil Rights Act, so we opened an investigation in early 2017.”

With the victims and plenty of other willing witnesses, investigators were able to piece together what had happened, and Howard was eventually charged with interfering with housing rights. “He pleaded guilty in February 2018,” according to Mapu, “acknowledging that the only reason he threatened the buyers was because they were Muslim.”

In addition to his federal prison sentence in May 2018, Howard was ordered to pay $30,000 in restitution and told that, after he serves his sentence, he will be subjected to two years of supervised release.

“Nobody has the right to interfere with any person’s right to buy or sell a house based on the buyers’ race, color, religion, gender, national original, disability, or familial status,” said Conde-Vazquez. “As an investigator, there is no greater feeling than restoring victims’ perceptions of justice. And in this case, I believe we did that not only for victims, but also for the entire neighborhood.”

She added, “Neighbors and other witnesses came forward when they saw an injustice, and they trusted the FBI to conduct a fair investigation with respect and compassion.”