Jewish Community Faces Unprecedentedly High Threat Environment

September 4, 2024, New York, New York: As part of a two-country investigation, Canadian authorities arrested a Pakistani citizen, Muhammad Shahzeb Khan, while he was trying to cross the border into the United States, allegedly as part of a planned mass shooting against a Jewish target in New York to support ISIS.

August 14, 2024, Orlando, Florida: Hashem Younis Hashem Hnaihen, a Jordanian citizen, was arrested in August 2024,  on suspicion that he sought to target businesses that he believed were supportive of Israel. Hnaihen pled guilty on December 20, 2024, to four counts of threatening to use explosives and one count of destruction of an energy facility.

July 16, 2024, New York, New York: Federal authorities charged Michael Chkhikvishvili, a citizen of the nation of Georgia, with soliciting hate crimes and mass violence.  According to authorities, Chkhikvishvili attempted to recruit others to poison Jewish children and commit a mass casualty attack in New York City. He also allegedly encouraged bombings, arson and poisonings against Jews, racial minorities and homeless people.

November 29, 2023, Las Vegas: Police officers arrested a 17-year-old Las Vegas resident on incendiary device and terrorism charges after the teenager allegedly announced to an online group of ISIS supporters that he was about to begin “lone wolf operations” in Las Vegas against “the enemies of Allah,” promising to “make sure the zionists [sic]” would know he was a supporter of the Islamic State. A search of his home reportedly discovered explosive components, bomb-making manuals and evidence suggesting he was considering different attacks and targets.

November 18, 2022. New York, New York:  Authorities arrested white supremacist Christopher Brown and in November 2024, he pleaded guilty and was sentenced to 10 years in state prison for possessing a firearm as part of a plan to “shoot up” a Manhattan synagogue. His accomplice, Matthew Mahrer, was sentenced to 2.5 years in prison for helping Brown procure and hide the firearm.

June 17, 2022.  Struthers, Ohio: Alerted by the FBI, police in Struthers, Ohio, arrested a teenager livestreaming a video in which he allegedly announced he was going to kill his father and take his van, then shoot at Black people before conducting a mass shooting at a synagogue. Police allegedly found two handguns that had racist and antisemitic symbols and messages on them, as well as a document variously described as a journal and a manifesto. The teen admitted to police that he was a white supremacist. He has been charged with terrorist threats, domestic violence, inducing panic and threatening violence, and possessing criminal tools. 

June 10, 2022. Brookhaven, New York: Authorities arrested Matthew Belanger in Long Island, New York, on weapons charges. Prosecutors say Belanger was a white supremacist who, while a Marine, plotted to attack a synagogue in New York, as well as to engage in homicide and sexual assault—he allegedly planned to rape white women to increase the number of white children. Belanger was allegedly a member of the accelerationist white supremacist group Rapekrieg.

January 15, 2022. Colleyville, Texas: British citizen Malik Faisal Akram took four people hostage at Congregation Beth Israel synagogue in Colleyville, Texas, claiming to have weapons and bombs. He subsequently demanded that suspected Al Qaeda courier Aafia Siddiqui be released from the nearby federal prison where she was being held. After a day-long ordeal, the hostages were able to escape the building, and Akram was killed by law enforcement. Akram apparently chose the location because, he claimed, “America only cares about Jewish lives.”

October 31, 2021. Austin, Texas: In November 2023, Franklin Barrett Sechriest pleaded guilty in the 2021 arson attack on Congregation Beth Israel, which caused $25,000 in damage, and was sentenced to 10 years in prison. Authorities say Sechriest had stickers with white supremacist propaganda and symbols in his possession, as well as journals containing racist and antisemitic writings.

December 17, 2021, Thomson, Illinois: In December 2021, Brandon C. Simonson and Kristopher S. Martin were indicted on charges of conspiracy to commit murder, second-degree murder, hate crime and assault for their alleged roles in the March 2020 killing of a fellow inmate because of his Jewish identity. Prison officials identified the men as members of the Valhalla Bound Skinheads, an Oregon-based white supremacist gang. In May 2025, a federal judge found Simonson guilty and Martin pleaded guilty earlier this year. Both await sentencing. 

Other Types of Incidents with Antisemitic/Anti-Zionist Elements, 2024-2025

In addition to these plots and attacks, over the past year, antisemites and anti-Zionists have been arrested for a range of incidents and hate crimes, including assault, possession of illegal weapons and destructive devices, plots to harm other marginalized communities, solicitation of murder, and destruction of energy facilities.

April 23, 2025. Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania: A federal grand jury returned a superseding indictment against three Pittsburgh residents, Mohamad Hamad, Tayla Lubit, and Micaiah Collins, on charges of conpiracy, defacing and damaging religious property (Chabad of Squirrel Hill) in July 2024, and making false statements. The indictment alleges that during this same period, Hamad and Collins manufactured and possessed destructive devices. 

March 10, 2025. Brentwood, California: Noah Kanaye Bauer was arrested in September 2024 after allegedly bringing a 3D-printed pistol to a grocery store and charged federally in March 2025 for allegedly possessing a machine gun conversion device. A judge ordered him held without bail after prosecutors cited his online history of antisemitic, racist and extremist content, including Chat-GPT inquiries about Jews, guns, and past mass attackers. He reportedly expressed antisemitic beliefs during police interviews, stating that Jews control American politics, own the porn industry, and are “kind of ruining the country.”

January 27, 2025. Crescent, Pennsylvania: According to a press release from the U.S. Attorney’s Office, Aiden Andrew Harding was indicted by a federal grand jury on a charge of possession of material depicting the sexual exploitation of a minor. During a February detention hearing, evidence was introduced demonstrating that Harding had antisemitic and violent extremist ideologies and had posted online about his interest in “political and revenge driven” mass casualty events, like the attack on the Tree of Life Synagogue in Pittsburgh.

January 4, 2025. Beverly Massachusetts: Matthew Scouras, who allegedly had an illegal cache of guns and a Nazi flag in his home, was arrested after posting online threats to rape Jewish women and inciting others to shoot people outside of synagogues. He has been charged with multiple firearm charges and threats to destroy a place of worship.

December 18, 2024. Stewart County, Tennessee:  The FBI arrested Gunner Joseph Fisher for plotting a mass murder at a Nashville mosque. Fisher, who reportedly admired other mass shooters with white supremacist Brenton Tarrant being his favorite, was charged with communicating a threat to commit mass violence. According to the criminal complaint, the FBI discovered a video on Fisher’s phone showing him railing and using slurs against Jews and Muslims and quotes him as saying, “And I, Gunner Joseph Fisher, am going to take care of them both.”

December 7, 2024, Laguna Beach, California: Nicholas Tasooji was arrested for assault with a deadly weapon after allegedly ramming his car into an Israeli man in front of a nightclub. Tasooji and other assailants were allegedly involved in an argument with the victim and his friends. One of the assailants reportedly yelled slurs and attempted to block the victim and his friends from entering a taxi. Tasooji then allegedly entered his car and rammed the victim with it, causing serious injury.

November 5, 2024. Washington D.C.: Austin Martin Olson, of Westland, Michigan, was arrested after he allegedly walked into the U.S. Capitol with a flare gun, torch lighter, bottles of fuel and a letter he said he intended to deliver to the U.S. Congress. Olson was apprehended while trying to go through the visitor center screening process, after Capitol Police noticed he smelled like fuel and spotted suspicious items in the X-ray machine.  He has been charged with possession of a prohibited weapon, unlawful activities, and disorderly conduct. ADL analysts found that Olson had an online history that included a range of antisemitic, anti-Israel, and anti-government views.

October 31, 2024. Margate, Florida: John Lapinski was arrested on federal charges of being a felon in possession of a firearm and possessing an unregistered gun suppressor. Police responding to a report of shots fired found firearms and spent shell casings. With a judge’s approval, a search of the home found multiple firearms, body armor, smoke grenades, suspected silencers, and a clipboard containing a list of “targets” including a synagogue, a Jewish cemetery, and a Jewish sandwich shop.  Lapinski pleaded guilty on April 23, 2025, to weapons-related charges, including possession of a firearm by a convicted felon.

September 9, 2024. Elk Grove, California: Federal authorities indicted two leaders of the online white supremacist group known as the Terrorgram Collective on numerous charges, including solicitation of murder of a federal official, solicitation of a hate crime and conspiracy to provide material support for terrorism. Arrested were Dallas Erin Humber and Matthew Robert Allison. Terrorgram publications frequently demonize Jews and other marginalized communities, and glorify violence committed against these communities. The collective’s propaganda included a list of “high-value targets” for assassination, many of whom are Jewish.

August 29, 2024, Yonkers, New York: Ahmed Al Jabali was arrested for allegedly stabbing a Jewish man at his barber shop in Yonkers. According to the victim, Al Jabali shouted, “I want to kill you, you [expletive] Jew,” then stabbed the barber with a pair of scissors several times. Al Jabali allegedly shouted several more antisemitic and anti-Israel comments during the attack. He was charged with attempted murder as a hate crime.

August 10, 2024, Brooklyn, New York: Vincent Sumpter allegedly carried out a stabbing attack in front of the headquarters of the Chabad-Lubavich movement in the Crown Heights neighborhood of Brooklyn. Sumpter allegedly yelled, “Free Palestine” and “Do you want to die?” at the victim, a member of the Orthodox Jewish community, before stabbing him in the chest. Sumpter was charged with second-degree assault as a hate crime.

July 10, 2024, Newark, New Jersey: Federal agents arrested Andrew Takhistov at Newark Liberty International Airport, charging him with soliciting the destruction of energy facilities.  He reportedly said that his “ultimate dream” was to use a rocket to attack a synagogue.

June 11, 2024, Prescott, Arizona: Mark Adams Prieto was indicted on federal firearms charges in connection with an alleged plot to conduct a mass shooting against Black people at a rap concert to incite a race war before the 2024 presidential election. Prieto also allegedly discussed other targets, such as Jews or Muslims.

May 29, 2024, Brooklyn, New York: Asghar Ali was arrested after allegedly attempting to ram several Orthodox Jewish men with his car by a yeshiva in the Canarsie neighborhood. Ali reportedly shouted antisemitic slurs during the attack. He was charged with 10 crimes, including attempted murder as a hate crime.

The article is published courtesy of the Anti-Defamation League (ADL).