Man Who Threatened to Blow Up Buffalo VA Pleads Guilty

BUFFALO, N.Y. — A Buffalo man who threatened to blow up the city’s VA building pleaded guilty Wednesday in federal court.

Demont Coston, 56, of Buffalo, pleaded guilty to assaulting a federal employee, a charge that carries a possible sentence of up to a year in prison and a $1 million fine.

According to prosecutors, Coston called the Veterans Affairs hotline on Sept. 12, 2023, and repeatedly threatened to blow up the building. “I should go blow it up … I should go burn the building down,” he said, according to federal prosecutors.

He then texted the crisis line two days later relaying more threats, including: “The VA has done nothing for me in 30 years, it’s time to get rid of them, by any means necessary.”

Coston will appear in court again on July 11.