Federal authorities on Wednesday charged a West Virginia man with communicating a hoax threat to blow up the Statue of Liberty earlier this year, prompting the evacuation of more than 3,200 people from Liberty Island in New York harbor.
Jason Paul Smith, 42, was charged with one count of conveying false and misleading information in the April 24 incident, U.S. Attorney Preet Bharara in Manhattan said.
Smith was arrested on Wednesday in Lubbock, Texas, and is expected to appear in a federal court in Texas later in the day, Bharara said.