The Department of Justice charged a dual American-German citizen with attempting to firebomb the U.S. Embassy branch office in Tel Aviv, Israel.
Israeli authorities found Joseph Neumayer carrying a backpack with three Molotov cocktails last week in the country’s capital city, according to the DOJ. Israel apprehended the suspect on May 19, the day the incident took place, and deported him to the United States.
Neumayer arrived in the U.S. at New York’s John F. Kennedy Airport on Sunday and was immediately arrested by federal authorities who charged him with trying to destroy the embassy office. The suspect is also accused of threatening to assassinate President Donald Trump in social media posts.
The DOJ said that on the day of his arrest in Israel, Neumayer posted on his Facebook account, “Join me this afternoon in Tel Aviv we are burning down the US. embassy” and “join me as I burn down the embassy in Tel Aviv. Death to America. Death to Americans and f*** the west.”
Attorney General Pam Bondi remarked on the case in a statement vowing to prosecute Neumayer “to the fullest extent of the law.”
“This defendant is charged with planning a devastating attack targeting our embassy in Israel, threatening death to Americans, and President Trump’s life,” she said Sunday. “The Department will not tolerate such violence and will prosecute this defendant to the fullest extent of the law.”
FBI Director Kash Patel said his agency is also investigating the incident.
“This despicable and violent behavior will not be tolerated at home or abroad, and the FBI, working with our partners, will bring him to face justice for his dangerous actions,” he said in a statement.
Neumayer faces a maximum of 20 years in prison if convicted, the DOJ’s office for the Eastern District of New York said.
The arrest comes after another attack stunned the country last week. Two Jewish diplomats set to be engaged were fatally shot in an attack at the Capital Jewish Museum in Washington, D.C., on Wednesday.
TWO KILLED IN SHOOTING OUTSIDE CAPITAL JEWISH MUSEUM
“The fatal shooting that took place outside the event that took place at the Jewish Museum in Washington, D.C. is a depraved act of anti-Semitic terrorism. Harming the Jewish community is crossing a red line,” Israeli Ambassador to the United Nations Danny Danon said. “We are confident that the US authorities will take strong action against those responsible for this criminal act. Israel will continue to act resolutely to protect its citizens and representatives — everywhere in the world.”
The suspect in the shooting, 31-year-old Elias Rodriguez, was quickly identified and arrested. He was charged on Thursday in federal court with two counts of first-degree murder.
