Man Sentenced for Sending Fake 'Bomb Threat' to Cruise Ship After Girlfriend Went Without Him

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Joshua Lowe, 19, will spend time behind bars after he sent an email to Carnival Cruise Lines in January 2024 that read, "Hey, I think someone might have a bomb on your sunrise cruise ship."

One teen is learning just how seriously bomb threats are taken after he let his emotions get the best of him when his girlfriend left him at home while she and her family went on a cruise.

Joshua Lowe, 19, admitted he was "upset" when he made the claim. On Monday, he was sentenced to eight months in prison for making a false bomb threat.

"We take every threat of mass violence seriously," U.S. Attorney Mark Totten said in a press release from the U.S. Attorney's Office, Western District of Michigan, released after his indictment last September. "Hoaxes can endanger lives, incur needless costs, and divert public safety resources needed to address real threats."

The defendant admitted to sending the email in January 2024 after "FBI agents traced the email address to Lowe, who was living with his girlfriend’s family," according to Assistant U.S. Attorney Nils Kessler in a court filing reviewed by The Associated Press.

According to the report, the defendant admitted to authorities he'd sent the email "because he was upset that the family went on the cruise, while leaving him behind to care for their pets." Lowe was reportedly living with the family at the time.

In the email sent to Carnival Cruise Lines, Lowe wrote, "Hey, I think someone might have a bomb on your sunrise cruise ship."

As a result of the threat, which was taken seriously, AP reports more than 1,000 rooms on board the ship had to be searched by ship's personnel after it had left port in Miami on its way to Jamaica

People reports that Carnival had to also contact the U.S. Coast Guard and Jamaican authorities after receiving the email. In response Jamaica's Marine Police "escorted the ship to port."

"Anyone making a bomb threat should expect to be taken at his word," Kessler said in the court documents. "Fortunately, this particular hoax did not result in physical injury."

Lowe took responsibility for his actions in a letter penned to U.S. District Judge Paul Maloney, who passed sentencing on him. "This is all my fault and take full responsibility," he wrote.

The district attorney's office said that in addition to his sentence, Lowe has been ordered "to pay restitution for expenses associated with the hoax."

"When individuals make false hoax threats, they divert critical law enforcement resources and spread unnecessary fear," said Cheyvoryea Gibson, Special Agent in Charge of the FBI in Michigan in the USAO's press release. "The FBI takes all threats to life seriously and will ensure that those who resort to this kind of intimidation face the appropriate consequences."